life is like drawing  just without a rubber
by M-H199630
Summary: In order to save his friends Naruto travels back in time. But how can you survive in an age that isn't your own, where you are forced to live undercover, with a demon-lord sealed inside your stomach and a dangerous masked man being after your neck?
1. TimeTravel

_Hey everyone!_

_I'm so excited. This is my first fanfic so please be gentle._

_English is not my mother tongue but I tried my best so please excuse the mistakes._

_I wrote this chapter at 4 o'clock in the morning so maybe it sounds a little strange. (?)_

_I DON'T OWN NARUTO OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. I'm just playing with them._

_**Summary: **In order to safe his friends Naruto travels back 20 years in time. But how the hell can you survive in an age that isn't your own, where you are forced to live undercover, with a demon-lord sealed inside your stomach and a dangerous masked man being after your neck? _

_**Warning: **Every person who didn't read the manga up to chapter 568 - 573 should maybe do so before reading this fanfic. I based the story on the events of these chapters and everyone who doesn't want to read some spoilers should leave and come back later :)_

_Since this is my first fanfic it would nice to hear what other people think about it. So please review :) _

" blah " _direct discourse_

_" blah " thoughts_

_**" blah " **Kyuubi's thoughts_

* * *

><p><strong>~ life is like drawing - just without a rubber ~<strong>

**chapter one: TimeTravel**

"Aaaaaalright, Ichirakus is the best!"

The old owner of the the ramen stall smiled at the blond boy in front of him, who was eating his soup like there was no tomorrow.

"Thanks kid. It's always nice to hear that ones work is appreciated."

Naruto gave him one of his 'foxy grins' which distinguished the three whisker marks on each side ot his cheeks. To be smiling at this moment was actually a challenge for him since it required time. And that time was wasted because no matter how talented a person may be, it's simply impossible to eat with the speed of a world champion and smile at the same time. Even for Naruto.

"You should be proud old man, since the next hokage is eating here!", stated Naruto and continued to scarf down his fourth bowl of Miso ramen. His sky-blue eyes shone with pride.

Ichiraku laughed. "Yeah, I heard the news kid, and I must say I'm proud of you."

He could clearly remember that day. It was one week after the great battle with the Akatsuki and Madara Uchiha. The village was about to prepare itself for the next attack that was soon to come, when the Godaime, Tsunade-sama, announced Naruto Uzumaki was promoted the next Hokage. The whole village was in shock. Hokage, a title that was reserved for the strongest shinobi in the country ever existing, a title that marked the leader of Konohagakure, was now given to a 16-year-old boy. And not just some boy. It was given to the 'demon-brat'.

"So, when are you going to begin your career?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, old man. Tsunade-baa-chan said I don't have enough experience yet to support the village in war. She will lead us through the 4th-shinobi-war and I'll spend my time learning to be a good Hokage."

Naruto finished his meal, took his leave and made his way back to his apartment. Finally his life long dream of being Hokage came true.

There had been times when he doubted his strength. Like in his childhood when the villagers hated and feared him because he was the host of the Nine-Tailed-Fox-Demon, the Kyuubi, the demon that attacked the village 16 years ago and brought destruction and death to Konohagakure.

The Yondaime, Konoha's strongest Hokage, defeated the beast and sealed it within Naruto, sacrificing his own life. Naruto had still been a little baby back then. He had lived with the demon inside him his whole life. Along with the disgusted glares of the villagers.

He had trained very hard in order for them to recognize him as the person he was and not as the beast he carried. But then he lost the person he treasured the most, his rival, his brother and his best friend. Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto had sworn to himself that he would never fail a friend, but in the end, he hadn't been able to save Sasuke from his consuming hatred towards his brother Itachi, who had killed the whole Uchiha-clan.

Sasuke left the village and only his promise remained. The promise that he would come back to kill Naruto in order to obtain boundless power.

_**"Caught in depressing thoughts again, kit?"**_ The voice inside of his head was calm and deep. _**"You've been doing that a lot lately and it doesn't suit you at all."**_

_"I was just reliving some memories but thanks for your concern. I had no idea that a great demon-lord like yourself would stoop to the level of moral beings like us humans, Kyuubi"_

_**"It's getting kinda boring inside you, kit"**_, the fox replied with a smirk in his voise.

_"Oh come on! You can't fool me, Kurama. You may keep your mask of the cold-hearted beast but I know that you care about me. In reality, you are just a real softy."_

**"No, it's true. It really starts to get boring. Because of your whole Hokage business, you stopped talking to me all along."**

Naruto chuckled. _"Don't worry. We're at war, you know. Sooner or later something exciting will happen."_

**"And then we will go hunting again. Together. You and me. Just the two of us."**

Naruto raised his eyebrow. _"You sound really dreamy right now, you know. Like an old man."_

**"That's because I'm free."**

Naruto kept silent. It took some time before he answered Kurama.

_"You know, when I was young I just used to hate you like the rest of the village. I cursed you the demon who ruined my life and killed my parents."_

**"And yet your father sealed that demon within his own newborn child and gave you hell."**

Naruto smirked sadly. _"The villagers may hate you but I've made my own decision. You've saved me countless times. You are not some nameless beast anymore. You are one of my precious friends and I promise that I will never lock you up behind a gate ever again."_

_**"Big words for such a little young kit as yourself, don't cha think? You can call me Kura-chan if you want to"**_, Kurama sniffed.

The blond boy giggled. _"Sounds like there is a granule of emotion sucked in you eyes."_

**"You just came across my sentimental streak."**

_"Kura-chan, eh? I think that Ku-chan would suit you better, so why not choose that one?"_

_**"You just have have to leave the 'chan' out and add a 'h' after the 'Ku' and then it means 'cow' in German. It sounds the same, just written a bit different. Do I look like a cow to you?"**_

_"One touchy dude, aren't we?"_

**"Joke aside, kit. You are a Jinjuriki which means that you don't count to the top three of the most favored kind of persons on the face of our wonderful planet. This kind of attitude could not only cost you you precious title as the Nanadaime but also you life."**

_"Just be patient, Kurama. After all I am the hero that saved Konohagakure from Pain and Nagato. Just give the villagers some time. One day they will respect our bond."_

**"Whatever you say, kit. The other Jinjurikis won't have it easy either."**

_"I'm sure they are strong enough to handle it themselves. They are never alone. Each one of us is à deux. Still I would feel a lot better if I was able to support them somehow."_

**"The best we can do is to keep the scroll safe. That's plenty."**

Naruto sighed. _"I really hate to have to rely on this scroll, you know. It's getting more and more annoying. Just when we, Bee and the eight-tails Gyuuki managed to free the other Jinjurikis and their beasts from Madara, we have to bound our lives to that scroll. That makes us all prisoners again."_

Kurama let out a snorting sound.

**"Kit, did you know that the thing between your ears is not just necessary for wearing a cap or do you only use it so that you don't have to carry around all that sawdust with your hands? This scroll is a contract between the Jinjurikis and the Tailed-Beasts and the only thing that keeps you humans alive. When Madara separated them from their demons, their life was over. They could only keep on existing inside the Rinnegan. Now that we freed them, we need another way to keep the Jinjurikis alive. It works a bit like a summoning contract. The scroll supports the chakra-flow between the humans and the beasts. Once that contract is broken, all Jinjurikis will die again. Except the wanna-be-rapper and you, of course."**

_"I didn't get it but it sound really cool!"_

**"Ha, whatever just don't let Madara get his hands on it, ok?"**

* * *

><p>"Hey, gaki. You are late for training, you lazy little punk!", greeted the tall woman as Naruto made his way over to her on the training grounds.<p>

"Oh come on, Tsunade-baa-chan! I'm not like Kakashi."

"You're starting to take after your sensei. That's bad influence for you," the Godaime giggled.

If he hadn't already known, Naruto wouldn't have been able to guess that she was already in her fifties. Her long blond hear was tied up in two low ponytails which reached down to center of her back and she had a bust measurement every woman would envy her for. Even her behavior was sometimes like the one of a high school girl. In the center of her forehead was a little mark that looked like a rhombus.

"Sorry Baa-chan. I was in deep thoughts and accidently ran past the training grounds without noticing."

"That's a bad habit."

"...comes from a woman who's way too vain to acknowledge to herself that she is old."

**BOOM!**

".. oh ...and she ...is ...short-tempered and ...violent, too."

A vein on Tsunade's forehead twitched. Her fist was clenched. "Can we start now?"

"Sure. Let's start training!", Naruto cheered. "I'll just put my scroll to the side, ok? It's kind of a nuisance."

While he walked over to the edge of the training grounds Tsunade regarded the scroll which was fixed at the blonds back. It was about one third of his hight and made out of blood-red sheets. It was closed tightly with a seal. The seal looked like a spiral which was bordered with nine identical symbols in the shape of nines. It disturbed her that lives of humans depended on this scroll. She had a bad feeling about this whole thing.

Naruto put his scroll under a tree and walked back to the Gondaime until he stood in front of her.

"Gaki, you've got power, you've got courage, you've got a strong will. There is a reason I made you the Nanadaime."

She took a fighting stance.

"You can not disappoint this village like the Rokudaime did."

Naruto lowered his body, ready to fight.

"COME ON! SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!"

* * *

><p>The training grounds were cluttered with craters. Naruto was kneeling on one side of the field, across from him was Tsunade who supported her body with her hands on her knees. Both were panting heavily.<p>

Naruto grinned. "This is so much fun!"

His joy was noticeable. His body shivered in excitement and the bright smile wouldn't leave his face.

He stood up from the ground and performed a hand sign. Next to him one of his famous shadow clones appeared out of nowhere. Naruto reached his right palm towards the clone and concentrated his chakra. A blue light developed in his palm and his clone started making circling movements with his hands. Glowing ribbons of blue chakra formed, gyrating around the blue light.

"Here I come, ready or not!" Naruto screamed and sprinted towards the Godaime.

She smirked and coated her hands with her own green glowing chakra.

"Sorry gaki, but it's time for me to get back to work. Let's end this quick!", she said and threw herself at Naruto.

A huge explosion teared the world apart. Rocks and branches flew through the air.

Naruto was flung backwards by the pressure and landed hard on the ground. Tsunade crashed into a tree and tilted her neck painfully to the side.

The blond boy moaned and tried to stand up from the ground. Shit, he hadn't even touched Tsunade yet. Where did that huge explosion come from?

Tsunade cursed extensive and mentally slapped herself. How could she have been so stupid and called Naruto to the training grounds. The Godaime and the Nanadaime outside of the village, without any ANBU members. Of course there was the high possibility of an enemy attack. She braced herself on the trunk of the tree and rubbed her throbbing neck, while she looked around in the dust, hoping to spot the attacker. But she couldn't sense any kind of chakra.

Naruto coughed violently.

_"Kurama, what is going on here? I can't sense any chakra!"_

No response.

_"Kurama?"_

_**"This feeling..."**_, the fox growled and Naruto felt strong emotions raising in his chest. Emotions of hatred, panic, tension and, what scared the blond the most...fear.

Cold consuming fear.

Naruto slowly turned his head and looked through the dust at the figure standing a few meters away from him, that was now clearly discernible.

**"Madara."**

The masked man looked down on him. His eyes were cold and clear of any emotion. For Naruto this second of eye contact lasted an eternity.

Then Madara's body started to twist around his right eye, and slowly began to disappear.

In the blonds head his thoughts circled like an hurricane. Madara? Here? In Konohagakure? He...just came out of nowhere ... and now he is ... disappearing?

And then the item in Madara's left hand caught Naruto's attention. It was his scroll. The contract with the Tailed-Beasts. The warranty of the Jinjuriki's lives. The key to the Ten-Tailed-Beast. The key to Madara's goal.

And then he snapped.

"You're not going anywhere!", he screamed, threw himself at the masked man and grabbed his coat. He heard Tsunade's caution scream, a deep furious roar of Kurama and then the world twisted out of reality.

* * *

><p><strong>"Let go, kit!"<strong>

_No._

**"Let go now!"**

_No._

**"Please let go of him!"**

_Never._

**"Listen to me!"**

_I can not let them die._

**"You will die!"**

_I don't care._

**"You Idiot. Listen to me. LET GO OF MADARA'S COAT NOW. BEFORE IT'S TO LATE. LET GO, KIT!"**

Naruto's hand let go of the fabric between his fingers and he fell into a swirl of light and colors.

* * *

><p>Tsunade sat on the ground. Disbelieve filled her head. Before her eyes the swirl of colors and shapes were formed back to reality.<p>

He was gone.

The Nanadaime was gone.

The blond, smiling boy with his eyes as blue as the clear sky which always seemed to glow, was gone.

The little brother that she regained.

The son that she never had.

He was gone.

And all that remained ... was silence.

* * *

><p>Naruto groaned. His limbs felt sore and his head must weighed at least a tone.<p>

_**"Welcome back to the world of the living, Naruto Uzumaki. Thank you very much for gracing us with your presence"**_, the ironic voice of the fox-demon rang through his head.

Oh god. That hurt.

_"Please, don't scream like that, ok Kura-chan?"_

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head from the ground, but he didn't see anything he was willing to believe in. His vision was blurry and he had an headache beyond the Richter scale.

He blinked a few times and the colors around his started to shape to forms that were, in his opinion, a lot more credible.

A lot of trees, a cliff on his right side, on his left side a steep hillside, underneath him a solid forest floor. That's good.

Naruto tried to sit up and regretted it immediately. He groaned again and rubbed the small of his back.

**"Getting old, are we?"**

_"...says a hundreds of years old legend."_

**"How are you feeling?"**

_"How does it appear to you?"_

**"Like you've been drinking three days straight, had a hang over at Sasuke's place, woke up the next evening naked next to him in his bed with sore ass?"**

_"No shit, sherlock."_ Naruto groaned again as he lifted himself of the ground and leaned against the cliff. _"That's weird and I don't get the comparisons."_

**"Figures."**

_"And how're you doing? Enjoying yourself?"_

**"Let's just say I am riveted by the situation."**

Naruto blinked confused. _"What's that supposed to mean?"_

**"Get your ass in here and check it out yourself."**

Naruto knew that was all the answer he would get, so he closed his eyes and let himself drift away into his mind to the pace where the Kyuubi had his residence.

When he opened his eyes again he stood in front of the giant fox-demon who slouched lazily on the surface of the water the floor was covered with. His nine tails coated with thick orange fur were slung around his enormous yet slim body. His head rested on his paws. His dark red eyes focused on the boy in front of him and a lopsided smirk curled his mouth.

_**"Nice to see you down here sometimes, your highness"**_, Kurama stated.

Naruto would have answered but it's kind of hard to speak while gasping for air like a fish in order not to choke.

Bofore the 4th-shinobi-war this place had been a dark corridor with an enormous cage in at its end that kept the Nine-Tailed-Fox-Demon at bay. After he had made friends with Kurama, the place had turned into a large lake with still water and no end of it to be seen. A bright and completely white space.

It still looked the same. No cage, no bars, the lake, white.

But now the place was glowing from the blue and red lights of thousands of strings and ribbons which were intertwined to a giant net of light.

**"As you can see it's quite difficult to move like that."**

_"What the hell happened here? What is that stuff?"_

**"That, kit, are our chakras."**

_"_"_

**"_"**

_"WHAT?"_

**"Yeah, seems like your little ride with Marada through the dimensions messed up our whole chakra-flow."**

_"Marada!"_, Naruto panicked and snapped out of his mind, back to reality. Hastely he threw his head around ignoring the throbbing pain and searched for the masked man.

**"Calm down kit. He's not here. You let go of him right in time, otherwise we would have had a serious problem by now." **

_"We are sitting here in a forest in who-knows-where, the scroll that is the warranty of my friends lives was stolen by Madara, Tsunade-baa-chan is nowhere to be seen, my chakra-flow is a mess and you say that we do not have a serious problem."_

**"Ok, don't panic!"**

_"WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO DO?"_

**"Losing your head won't help you now either. We are still together so Madara hasn't done anything yet. So. calm. down."**

Naruto took a deep breath. Then a smile spread on his face.

_"You're right. Now that I think about it the whole situation is pretty cool and exciting."_

**"You mean everything is under control?"**

_"No, that wouldn't be cool and exciting."_

**"Save your wisecracks and start walking. We need to find out where we are."**

_"Of course, since you aren't the one with the sore limbs"_, Naruto grumbled and tried to stand up. But his legs yielded under the weight of his body and he fell back on the ground.

**"Impressive action, sports fan."**

Naruto ignored the comment and performed a hand sign that would create a shadow clone that should be able to help him walk. But nothing happened. He did it again. And again. But no shadow clone appeared.

_"Ehm, Kurama. I can't feel any chakra."_

**"What are you talking about. there is plenty of chakra here."**

_"Yeah but, I can't use it."_

**"_"**

_"_"_

**"Shit! Ok, we'll think about that later. Now get your ass moving. I don't know where Madara went. It would be dangerous to be sticking around here any longer."**

Naruto groaned and lifted himself from the ground again, this time with more success. He began walking alongside the cliff so that he could stable himself.

_"How long have I been out?"_, he asked Kurama.

**"Quite a while actually. You were badly wounded but I had enough time to patch you up, so, maybe about two or three days."**

_"Two or three days! Tsunade-baa-chan will be worried. ...Wait, you said that you patched me up. So you are able to use chakra inside my body but not outside?"_

**"That would be the easiest explanation."**

On his right side where the mountain Naruto was currently standing on slopped in the valley, the trees started to clear and gave the view of a village that was located near a big river.

Naruto sighed in relief. _"Thank god, it's a village. Maybe there I will be able to get some hot ramen and sleep."_

**"Wait a minute. That looks familiar."**

_"What are you talking about?"_

**"Look closely."**

Naruto narrowed his eyes to slits and tried to spot something that he would recognize.

_"Hey, aren't these the stone faces of the Hokages?"_

**"Yeah, I think so."**

_"Perfect! It's Konohagakure. Then I will go Ichirakus and eat some nice Miso ramen!"_, Naruto cheered and started to climb down the hill.

**"Wait, you brainless idiot. Something seems off."**

_"Relax Kura-chan, everything's fine. Let's go home. It's quite close. We didn't fly very far. By sunset we will be back at my apartment."_

_"**Look closely. Don't you see it?"**_

_"What?"_, Naruto asked annoyed and regarded the stone faces once more.

_"Say, are they refurbishing the Yondaimes face?...And where is the one of the Godaime?"_

Kurama kept silent for a long time before he answered.

**"Madara is a ninja who uses ninjutsu that is able to transport him through dimensions. You were wrong. The Konohagakure we know is not near by at all. It's years from here."**

_"What do you mean?"_

**"Kit, we and Madara ... traveled through time ... to the past."**

_"_"_

**"_"**

_"...traveled through time..."_

**"_"**

_"...the past..."_

**"_"**

_"AWESOME!"_

* * *

><p><em>So that one's done.<em>

_I have a lot of ideas for this story so please tell me if you like it._


	2. familiar faces

__Here comes second.__

_That was quite fast but I don't have any tests for school right now and my friends are all busy so I don't have anything better to do._

_I constantly had to check the dictionary, so hopefully there won't be many mistakes._

_Thanks for the nice reviews. It encouraged me._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

><p><strong>~ life is like drawing - just without a rubber ~<strong>

**chapter two: familiar faces**

Kurama kept silent for a long time before he answered.

**"Madara is a ninja who uses ninjutsu that is able to transport him through dimensions. You were wrong. The Konohagakure we know is not near by at all. It's years from here."**

_"What do you mean?"_

**"Kit, we and Madara ... traveled through time ... to the past."**

_"_"_

**"_"**

_"...traveled through time..."_

**"_"**

_"...the past..."_

**"_"**

_"AWESOME!"_

* * *

><p><em>"That's just so freaking awesome!", <em>Naruto screamed. He didn't try to climp down the hill anymore, no, he started running down regardless the consequences.

**"Hey hey, kit. Calm down, you'll just hurt yourself."**

_"Nonsence"_, the boy replied with a grin, tripped over his own feet and crashed into the next tree.

_**"Told ya. Now that we got over and done with this topic, would you mind paying attention? There are a few things we have to think over before I sic you on the poor villagers"**_, interposed the fox-demon while his blond host tried to stand up from the ground.

_"Ok, fine. What's bugging you now?"_, Naruto asked. He ignored his excitement and leaned up against the tree, ready to listen to yet another curtain-lecture.

**"You really are an air-head. Haven't you figured out the problem yourself? We have three in total. The first one is rather obvious."**

_"Madara."_

**"Exactly. Just like us he traveled to this age and I'm pretty sure that he noticed you clinging to his coat. In other words he knows that we are sucked in the same time as him."**

_"Why should he care? It's not like we could catch him. He can use that very same jutsu again and again. And then the scroll will be out of our reach, too, just like he planed, right?"_

**"Yeah, that's true. He could jump to any time he wanted but I am certain that he will stay in this age for now. And he will be searching for you."**

_"Why's that?_", Naruto wondered.

**"Simple, try using your brain from time to time. The scroll is a contract between the Tailed-Beasts and the Jinjuriki. And only one who signed it will be able to undo the seal. Madara will need a Jinjuriki to open the scroll and take controll of us again. That's the rub. The Jinjuriki that signed the scroll all live in 'our' time and are protected by their village. And then there's us, a pair that has been thrown back to the past without allies or any other kind of protection."**

_"So he will make use of our situation and try to hunt us down."_

_**"That was problem number one and now the second follows. Your and my chakra-flows are a complete mess. How can we even fight back if he attacks us. That's a dead giveaway"**_, Kurama snarled. _**"And then there is the third problem. What date do we have anyway?"**_

_"Well, you know, there were already three stone faces of the Hokages. It seamed like the fourth was still being built."_

**"So we can assume that we are sucked somewhere between the times of the Sandaime and the Yondaime."**

_"How's that important?"_

The fox was lost in thoughts for a while and as he started speaking again his voice was anxious._**"That would give us another serious problem: the 3th-shinobi-war."**_

_"As long as we don't run into an enemy we should be quite safe"_, Naruto stated._ "You said it yourself. My chakra-flow is blocked, I can only use it inside of my body. That also means that no one will be able to identify me as a shinobi without a recheck."_

**"It's not as easy as you think. Every ninja we meet is our enemy. With a story like ours no one will be willing to believe us. They will suspect you a spy and execute you before you can protest."**

_"Yeah, a life is short and it normally ends with death"_, Naruto responded dry-witted._ "Never the less we have no other choice but to return to Konoha. We need help if we want the scroll back. And it will be difficult to get our chakra-flow back to normal without the support of a medical-ninja."_

**"I agree, but first take of every item that would identify you as who you are. We don't want to stand out, do we? Take off your forehead-protector and your necklace. We will have to leave them behind."**

_"_"_

**"You ok?"**

_"ARE YOU CRAZY? YOU WANT ME TO LEAVE BEHIND MY FOREHEAD-PROTECTOR ? MY PRECIOUS FOREHEAD-PROTECTOR I GOT FROM IRUKA-SENSEI? AND THE NECKLACE OF THE SHODAIME?"_

**"Fine kit, you can keep the necklace but we can't risk being seen with the mark of Konohagakure on your forehead. Neither ninjas from other villages nor the ones of Konoha will believe that."**

_"And what to do with it? I want to take it with me to the future again when we return."_

**"How about a silent funeral?...Ok, stop crying. Just bury it under this tree, we will be able to get it back later."**

_"I don't want to bury it under this dirt"_, Naruto pouted.

The Kyuubi sighted. _**"Kit, bury it or be executed."**_

_"Then I'll keep it."_

**"I DIDN'T SAY THAT YOU HAVE A CHOISE!"**

* * *

><p>Naruto had been walking trough the hills half of the day and the sun started to set behind the mountains far away in the west. He was now jumping from branch to branch of the large trees and annoyed the warm breeze on his face. He spotted a little river at the forest floor and dropped down in order to take a short break and some water.<p>

Kurama had been quiet for a long time. That fox never stopped to worry.

_"You will get wrinkles if you keep on being so gloomy. You are already really old so don't provoke it. That will look really ugly, you know. Why don't you just enjoy the exciting events for a change? With all your damn concern I can't enjoy it either so at least do me that favor. You were the one that wanted action, remember?"_

**"Hey, kit! I don't want to appear paranoid but ... do you feel that, too?"**

Naruto lifted his head from the river and whipped waterdrops from his mouth. His blue eyes scanned the trees for any sign of danger.

And then he felt it. It was an enormous amount of chakra that approached him fast. Very fast.

He cursed and threw himself to the side. The item that flew through the air barely missed him and pierced the floor exactly at the spot, where just one second earlier had been Naruto's legs. It was a kunai with three blades. The blond boy landed hard on his back. He tried to roll on his stomach but before he could even move, a huge figure was on top of him trapping his body under the weight of the other and pressed another kunai at his neck.

Naruto laid panting on his back and looked up at the person that held him down.

He looked into his own eyes, as blue as the clear sky. The persons face was nestled in blond strands of hair, the same color maybe a bit lighter than Naruto's own.

**"That's impossible..."**

_"The Yondaime! ... my father ..."_

Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure, stared down at the boy trapped underneath him with a calculating look o his face.

Than he asked Naruto with a steady voice: "Who are you and why are you wandering around here all by youself?"

Naruto didn't answer. He felt paralized. The person in front of him was without a doubt the Yondaime, the legend who was adored in the village as a hero.

The blond boy gasped as the the pressure on the kunai at his throat became more intense. A small trail of blood coursed down his neck.

"Answer my question", the Yondaime demanded and Naruto frowned under the cold stare of his eyes.

The spare hand of the Hokage grabbed the boy's orange shirt at his chest and shook him threatening. The orange fabric rode up Naruto's stomach and revealed a part of the seal that was placed around his navel.

The Yondaimes eyes narrowed and glanced at the seal. He gripped the end of Naruto's shirt and started pulling it up.

**"Kit, don't let him look at your seal!"**

The fox' scream jolted the boy out of his trance and back to reality. He yanked the kenai away from his throat and and struck out with his other hand.

The blond man caught his punch right in front his face and kept a tight grip at the boy's fist, while he tried to free his other hand that held the kunai from Naruto.

He ground his teeth and tensed every muscle in his body.

Naruto knew what the Yondaime was about to do. He had heard enough about the special justu of 'Konoha's yellow flash', the jutsu the man in front of him was named after.

He knew that the Yondaime would use the kunai in his hand to jump through time and space to the other kunai piercing the ground a few meters away from Naruto.

**"Come on kit! That's your chance to strike!"**

Naruto concentrated his whole being at what he was about to do and as his hand that had a grip at the Yondaime's left hand grabbed at nothing, he threw himself at his stomach and reached for the second kunai. He catched hold of it the very moment the Yondaime appeared in front of him again and struck out to pierce the blade trough Naruto's neck. The boy jumped from the ground at his feet and blocked the man's strike with the second kunai.

**"Very good, kit! We have a standoff for now!"**

Naruto panted heavily. Damn that man was fast! The free hand of the Yondaime had grabbed the collar of his shirt, the blond boy had fisted his own in Minato's blond hair.

Both of them stood completely still, not daring to move one muscle.

"You are good, kid", the man hissed. "What is that seal on your stomach for?"

Naruto clenched his teeth. "That's non of your business!"

They just kept staring at each other.

And as Naruto stared into these blue eyes, so much like his own, he felt a sting in his heart. That man in front of him was his father, for god's sake. The man he had always wanted to meet. The man he had just once talked to. In his mind. And there he stood. Right here. Staring at him with these eyes. Cold and merciless.

A noise at his left startled Naruto up, making him turning his head.

It was a group of three children, two boys and one girl. One of them he recognized immediately. It was the boy who stood in the middle. He had light gray hair and a mask covering the bottom half of his face. His eyes had a shocked expression as he stared at Naruto.

Hatake Kakashi.

Sure, he looked a lot younger as Naruto knew him and both of his eyes were uncovered but that was without a doubt his sensei.

Ok, this was getting irritating.

A loud voice pierced the air. That was the other boy. He was a bit smaller than Kakashi hand had dark black hair. And that thing covering his eyes ... were that diving goggles?

"What do you think you're doing, you evil bastard?", the boy screamed at him furiously. "Let go of our sensei right now!"

His sensei ... no way, that boy couldn't be ...

Naruto's hand trembled. The kunai he was still holding fell out of his fingers and hit the ground with a hollow thud.

He hardly noticed the sharp pain at his neck before the world around him turned into darkness.

* * *

><p><em>So, yet another one done.<em>

_That's good!_

_This chapter was a bit shorter than the first one but the next will come soon._

_The third chapter will have a lot of humor and jokes in it ... let's just say I'm trying my best._

_It will be out by no later than the week-end._

_Hope that you will keep on reading._

_please review :)_


	3. bad start

__Hey guys! __

_Here's the next chapter. I've been working really hard on it._

_But before you start reading the story I wanted to apologize. _

_**SORRY, MY MISTAKE!**__ I wrote "Marada" instead of "Madara" in the last chapters. My computer has a kind of "memory-mode", I tipped it wrong once and then it was wrong every time. I didn't even notice. So yeah, I was referring to THE Madara Uchia. I've already fixed it, that won't happen again. __**THANKS FOR TELLING ME! **__I wouldn't have noticed otherwise. And a wrong spelled main character is just a no-go._

_I wanted all of the important characters of the past to be in so it will be a bit out of the original story._

**I AM STILL NEW SO THANKS FOR HELPING ME TO CORRECT MY MISTAKES! I WOULD BE VERY GRATEFULL IF YOU'LL KEEP ON DOING SO!**

_Enough of the words._

_Now, enjoy the story!_

* * *

><p><strong>~ life is like drawing - just without a rubber ~<strong>

**chapter three: bad start**

Naruto didn't have to open his eyes to get an idea of what had happened. He could clearly feel the sharp pain that ran down his spine, for that he didn't have to move either to feel that his wrists where tied up behind his back.

That was the second time. The second time being knocked out. In one day. And of course that wouldn't make Naruto's headache any better.

Naruto kept his eyes closed and remained silent, pretending still to be unconscious.

His back was leaned up against a tree, he could feel the rough surface trough his t-shirt. It had gotten dark, the cicadas in the forest were chirping their noisy yet relaxing summer-concert. Somewhere near him he could hear a roaring fire.

**"The world has him back again. Refreshed by soft slumber. You've been out a lot lately, haven't you? Some kind of new hobby?"**

_"Please just leave my bones in one peace."_

He tried to move his hands, but they were tied together way to tight. His legs were numb and he couldn't feel his fingers. No chance of escaping.

**"A normal person in this situation would ask 'Where am I?'."**

_"Where am I?"_

**"Bingo! And the next one would be 'What happened?'."**

_"What happened?"_

**"You really are a cliche."**

_"How lovely to hear you so proud of yourself. For you I would do anything, even throw myself behind a train."_

**"Behind? How brave of you."**

_"Now would cha explain?"_

**"Well, while you were staring at the your future sensei like the idiot you are, the Yondaime knocked you out. They brought you to their deposit and tied you up. I have been listening to their conversation: Seems like the team was about to return to the village when they sensed your presence, and now they are not quite sure what to do with you. They've been arguing about it really loud actually, that should have woken you up. But you just kept on sleeping like a deaf 100-year-old guy on drugs."**

_"Why does your lordship has such a big mouth?"_

**"So that I can eat you easier."**

_"Stop that!"_

**"Methinks that you are no interventionist of classic literature, dear sir."**

_"Than let's face the things that are soon going to happen."_

**"May I ask how you know what will happen?"**

_"I add 2 and 2 together."_

**"And what is your result?"**

_"Like always, 7. Now would you mind telling me what will happen from now on?"_

Kurama sighted._**"I'm not certain, but they are surely going to ask you some questions."**_

_"And what the hell should I tell them?"_

**"Just keep close to the truth, that's the easiest way."**

"Obvious!", Naruto swore.

"What's obvious?"

Naruto flinched and opened his eyes wide. The Yondaime stood in front of him, the hands in his sides.

_"Shit did I just say that loud?"_

_**"Good luck, kit!"**__ Bastard!_

"Well?", the tall man asked.

Naruto swallowed hard. "Y...you see, it was quite obvious for me to get caught before I reach the village." Hopefully the Yondaime didn't notice that he had began to sweat. Man, Naruto was such a bad lair.

He stared up to the blond and wriggled his body to get into a more comfortable position.

"Not a chance, a ninja knows how to keep his enemy from escaping. Plus you are injured.

It's impressing that you were able to even move."

Naruto grimaced. "I have always been a fast healer."

How had he imagined a meeting with his father to be? Different. Maybe with a more pleasant atmosphere. But definitely not like this: tied up, injured, suspected to be a spy while Minato would look at him with these cold eyes.

The one time he had seen him, when Pain had attacked the village, his father had been cheerful and caring. So why? Why had it to be like this?

Even though he didn't show it, would never let it show, in his heart Naruto felt like crying.

"Who are you?" The question came out harsh and unfriendly. That had not been his attention. He just wanted to break the silence.

**"It's ok, kit. Just keep your act up: You are just a homeless ninja who travels around, searching help in Konoha because of your blocked chakra. You don't know anything or anyone. That's how a normal person would react."**

_Alright, keep the act up._

"Your face looks like that stone face that's being build. Are you by chance the Hokage?"

"No."

"_"

No...

"_"

"_"

"Huh?"

"I said no. I'm not the Hokage, not yet."

**"Breath. You make a face like a mountain goat after a fall from heights."**

"Huh?"

"I said ..."

"I HEARD WHAT YOU SAID, GOD DAMN IT! YET YOUR FACE IS BEING BUILD RIGHT OUT OF THE BLOODY HOKAGE-MOUNTAIN! SO HOW THE HELL ARE YOU NO HOKAGE? THIS IS JUST RUDICULOUS, YA KNO - ..."

A fist came flying out of nowhere and connected hard with his chin. Naruto's head flew back and a sharp pain shot through his neck. Then he was yanked back by his collar and he starred into the red face of a very angry Obito Uchia.

At least that was who Naruto thought he was. _But that's impossible._

"How dare you yelling at my sensei like that! Do you have any idea of what situation you are in? Have yo never learned to respect your elders?"

"I am older than you, yet you spit in my face!"

"Why you little ... !" Obito's face was now bright red and twitched with anger. He was about to raise his fist to hit Naruto again, but was lifted up by the back of his shirt. The Uchia struggled but wasn't able to wriggle out of his sensei's grip.

"Ok, that's enough. It's always dangerous to attack an enemy, whether he's tied up or not."

Ouch, that hurt. Naruto had been sure to be considered as an enemy from the very beginning. But hearing these words out of his father's mouth was ... well, not exactly pleasant.

"You are 12 years old and chunin now, so you should know that, Obito."

Obito. So that guy with the diving goggles really was Obito Uchia. Kakashi's dead teammate. The one to present him the sharingan.

_12 years ... Then ..._

**"That's right, kit. This brat has only one year left."**

_Just one year ... to die at this young age ... that was just ..._

"Hey stop staring at me, you blond freaking imposter!" _Blond freaking imposter? Ok, no pity here._

"Imposter? What the hell are you taking about?"

The black-haired boy finally managed to escape his sensei's grip. He brought his face close to Naruto's again, the blond could have sworn that he was able to see the boy's brain behind his eyes. Kind of scary.

"You know damn well what I am talking about. These fucking blue eyes and your disgusting blond hair, it's obvious that you were trying to mimic my sensei, smuggle into our village, gaining trust from the Sandaime ..."

_"Wow, he's really into it."_

**"Was he just insulting his own sensei?"**

_"No, I think he meant me."_

" ... , infiltrating the ANBU ... " _What was the word again?_

" ... , spreading fear and horror ... " _Why do I always forget the fitting words?_

" ... , kidnap innocent little kids ... " _Oh now I remember!_

" ... , and killing us all in our sleep while laughing like a mad man!"

"Pesky."

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?"

"I said that you are pesky. Why should I try to mimic him?", Naruto said and pointed at Minato. "Is he really that important for your damn little village?"

"Of course he is, you freak", Obito shouted. "He is going to be the next Hokage!"

The next Hokage ... so he was nominated to be one but not active yet ... just like Naruto.

_"Wait! Why are they building a face for him already? I didn't get one up to now either. That's like ... soooooo unfair! Damn you Tsunade-baa-chan!"_

**"Nonsense. Unlike the Sadaime it seems like your baa-chan's sane."**

_"The Sandaime's not dumb!"_

**"Whatever you say."**

The Yondaime ... Naruto stared at the blond man. Something seemed terribly off here. But no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't figure it out.

"Oh how brilliant of you, Obito", a voice mocked the Uchia. "You've just revealed important information to an enemy. Really brilliant, you mindless moron."

"Oh, shut up, Kakashi. It's not like this will stay a secret much longer. And just in case you didn't notice, this imposter is all tied up. No need to be so careful." He turned to Naruto and said "I suggested to just shoot you dead but sensei said that that would be unsporting. If you hadn't con him into that idea we wouldn't have any problems now!"

Kakashi stood up from the ground and approached the little group , placing himself in front of Obito. Minato watched the two boys with amusement.

Naruto had been caught up in the conversation, but now both Minato and Obito seemed to be more interested in Kakashi than in himself, so Naruto took the chance and regarded his surrounding.

He had been right with his guess. The sun had already set behind the mountains but the clearing was still softly lit. To his left, a bonfire heated the cool air.

Kakashi had been sitting next to a young girl. Her short hair shone in the fire like liquid honey. She watched her two teammates' quarrel with a slight warm smile on her lips.

_"That must be Rin, Kakashi-sensei's second teammate."_

**"Rin, eh? She looks really cute. Has Kakashi ever told you about her?" **

_"Not much. Only that there was also a girl in his Team, her name was Rin, and that he ... couldn't protect her either."_

Naruto watched the scene in front of him. The two fighting boys, throwing their fists at each other, their teacher eying them amused and the young girl with the sweet little smile on her lips.

And deep in his heart he felt happy, reminded ... and sad.

He was taken back in his memories, back to the time when he was still with team 7. He would have quarreled with Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei would have watched them amused and Sakura would have smiled at them. And screaming at Naruto for hurting her Sasuke. Ok, it was not the exact same situation.

_"But these guys look like a family, just like we once did. and like it was with us, for them it will be over soon, too."_

A sad smile spread on his face.

"So", Naruto said loud, turning his face to Minato. "You were chosen to be the next Hokage. Well that's news. What an honor to meet you in person."

Minato turned around, away from the two fighting boys. "Thanks, but I don't need your compliments", the future Hokage answered with a cold voice.

Yet his smile was so bright that it was only bearable with dark sunglasses on.

_"Ouch, my eyes hurt."_

**"At least his smile looks like yours. Otherwise it would have been hard to imagine that such a sane person is actually related to such a brainless fool such as yourself."**

Naruto ignored the fox. "So what is a normal person like me to do now? A curtsey?"

"You wouldn't be able to cope with that anyway, just take a look at your injuries", Obito snarled, still struggling with young-Kakashi. "Try to stay upright if possible."

The next hit from his teammate silenced him. Rin laughed at the actions of her two friends. "You two should really stop thrashing. You're scarring our guest", she informed them, pointing at the tied up Naruto.

Said blond chuckled. "Thanks, but normally you don't chain your guest. So would you mind getting these ropes of me?"

Rin smiled at him. "Well, you don't seem too dangerous to me. And I can't sense any chakra either. However it's sensei's choice whether to free you or not."

Naruto looked from her to Minato. "So, would you free me?"

"No."

_"Cold bastard!"_

**"Yeah, yeah. Like father, like son."**

"I can't free you. Not yet, boy. I have still a few questions to ask you", the man answered.

"Well then, get started or we'll still be sitting here tomorrow."

"Now it's getting interesting", Kakashi said and pushed Obito off him. The black-haired boy landed on his back and grunted.

"Ok, here goes",the Yondaime started. "First question: What's your name?"

"Naruto."

"Naruto, a fish cake? And next?"

"What next?"

"I mean what's your last name?" Shit.

"Can't tell you."

"You say that you won't even tell us your full name?"

"No, it's just ... I don't have one."

"You have no last name?", Obito asked in disbelieve.

"Well, ya know, I am an orphan. Noone ever told me my last name. And 'Naruto' is how I named myself."

"Why naming yourself 'fish cake'?" That was Kakashi.

"Well, ... I'm a real ramen-fan." If his hands hadn't been tied behind his back, Naruto would have scratched his head.

"So, just Naruto then", Minato said. "Ok, Naruto, here comes the second question: Why are you heading for Konohagakure?"

_"Oh god, what should I say?"_

**"Like I said, kit. Keep close to the truth. Making up unnecessary stories will only make it more complicated." **

_"You want me to make up some story on the spot that is close to the truth?"_

**"Ha, good luck, kit."**

"What is your purpose?"

"I am a ninja and ... "

"What, you are a ninja? But I can't sense any chakra!", Rin squeaked.

"That's just because you didn't look closely enough."

"Care to explain?", the Yondaime demanded and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm a ninja but I don't belong to any village." _That was what Kurama had advised him, wasn't it?_ "When I was a little kid ... I was at the verge of dying. A traveling ninja ... felt sorry for me. He ... took me in and taught me ninja-arts until I was strong enough to take care of myself. ... Then he disappeared without telling me his name."

"A traveling ninja? Do you remember what symbol was on his fore-head-protector?"

"I can't even remember his face."

"I see. But why are you here?"

"I ... have been searching for him for quite a while now. Well, I don't remember much about him, but he saved my life. I just feel ... just want to see him again."_ That's no lie actually. He really was trying to find someone._

**"Very good, kit. A proper portion of pity. Way to go."**

"So I started looking for him in the more popular ninja-villages. But without success. I was on my way to Konohagakure when I was caught up in a huge explosion. I barely got away, but it seems like my chakra-flow is now a complete mess."

"A mess?"

"Yeah, it's still there but I can't use it anymore. So I thought I could ask a medical-ninja in your village for help."

"So you were seeking help, eh?" The Yondaime turned to Rin and asked. "You use shosen jutsu, don't you Rin? Can you do something about this?"

"Well, you see," the girl was nervously hopping from one food to the other. "... his chakra-flow was damaged and I ... I'm still just a chunin. Well I ... I don't have the guts ... If I mess it up then he might die."

Naruto was a bit disappointed, but that would have been too easy.

"Ok, that's no problem", Minato said. "We will fix that another way somehow."

"Ehm ... I don't want to be impolite but ... Would you mind telling me your name?", Naruto asked.

"Oh I'm sorry. My name is Minato Namikaze."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You are Konoha's yellow flash."

"So you heard of me?" Minato smiled nervously and scratched the back of his head. He was definitely embarrassed.

Naruto laughed. "Who hasn't heard of you?"

"So what do you think, sensei", Kakashi joined in the conversation again. "Can we trust him?"

"I'm not sure jet", Minato said. "But we will take him with us back to the village."

Naruto mentally sighted. Up to now everything went quite well. He had the chance of returning to the village and he had an excuse to search for Madara. With a bit of luck he would even be able to gain his father's trust.

"But before we go", Minato said, "I want to ask you another question: What is that seal on you stomach for?"

Naruto froze.

_Shit._

The Yondaime looked at him eagerly. "Well?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why?"

"Non of your business." _There goes the trust._

"Ok." Minato's eyes narrowed but he didn't ask further questions. "Alright, you can untie him now, Rin. We will be leaving immediately." He turned around started to extinguish the fire.

The girl bent down in order to undo the ropes that held Naruto's wrists together.

The blond boy had listened closely to everything that the Yondaime said. Something was fishy and he wanted ... no, would find out what is was.

"Say Rin-chan", he said and smiled at the girl.

"Yeah, what is it, Naruto-kun?"

"There is a problem I want you to help me out with."

"That depends on the question."

"Alright. Minato ... -san's face is being built out of the Hokage-mountain but he said that he isn't even Hokage yet. So why are you guys building it?"

"Oh that's easy", the girl smiled."He will take over the Sandaime's place right after the war is over. So the village started building his face."

Right after the war ...

"Thanks Rin-chan."

"You're welcome."

* * *

><p>Obito walked over to his sensei who was still pottering around the fire.<p>

"Hey sensei", he whispered.

"Yeah Obito?"

"Are you really sure that we should take him with us to the village? I'm not really convinced that he's not a spy."

Minato sighted. "Me neither. But I can't say for sure that he is one either. And I am interested in his seal, too. I have never seen something like this. I am certain that he is hiding something from us. I want to ... no, I will find out what it is. So we will take him with us. Let's see what the Sandaime says about that."

* * *

><p><em>"Hey Kurama!"<em>

**"Hmm?"**

_"There's one question that rankles me."_

**"What might that be?"**

_"Father said that he had been chosen to be the next Hokage. But there's something that doesn't make sense. I mean Obito is still alive, Kakashi hasn't even been named jounin jet. So why? Why building his face now of all times? It will take a few more years for the Yondaime to actually take office. He is at most twenty, perhaps even younger. Why building a face for a man who won't be Hokage anytime soon? Preparing the village for a new leader does not only show the weakness of the last one, it attracts the attention from your enemy, too. And attention is the last thing Konoha needs right now, in war. Why risking to make the other nations interested in the leaf's actions?"_

Kurama kept silent fore a while, but when he spoke his voice expressed a feeling that he normally didn't show: nervousness.

**"Maby that's the clue."**

_"Huh?"_

**"Not attracting attention, kit. But to distract it."**

_"_"_

**"Something is definitely going on in the village. Something we don't know about, that was never written down and now since we are returning to the village we are getting deeply involved ourselves."**

_"But returning to Konoha is a good chance to find the scroll and regain my original chakra-flow. That's what I call a good start."_

_**"No, kit"**_, Kurama grunted._** "That's what I call a bad start."**_

* * *

><p><em>Another one done!<em>

_I have a week of vacation now so I think I will manage to write one or two new chapters._

_Please review :)_


	4. the familiar stranger with his secrets

_Hello guys!_

_I'm back with a new chapter._

_It's a very serious one. A lot of facts which will be important for the progress of the story._

_I have got only one review for the last chapter. That's quite sad actually since I know how much reviews can cheer on the author._

_SO PLEASE BE KIND AND WRITE ONE SENTENCE FOR ME!_

_And now, on with the story!_

* * *

><p><strong>~ life is like drawing - just without a rubber ~<strong>

**chapter four: the familiar stranger with his secrets**

They reached the village at dawn. Even though he would never have admitted it, Naruto was exhausted and tired. Minato had insisted on running the whole way back to Konoha. As the group had just traveled half of the way, Naruto's injuries had already started to make themselves felt. Breathing had become hard, his legs leaden and concentrating on his surrounding had become nearly impossible.

Yet he had noticed that young-Kakashi had never taken his eyes of the blond boy, keeping his hands near his weapon-back, always ready to defend.

As if he had had enough strength to run away. Let alone attack them.

The travel had been really quiet. Minato had been running ahead, Kakashi had spent his time glaring at Naruto and Obito and Rin had to concentrate on keeping up with their sensei, they hadn't had enough breath left for smalltalk.

Kurama had been sleeping. The fox had always said that he didn't need any sleep, but apparently he enjoyed it. That had meant no conversation in his mind for Naruto either. He had been listening to the fox' relaxed breathing for a while but that had made him even more tired so he had blocked the noises out.

If Naruto could have decided, he would just have searched for a nice place under a tree and slept until noon. But Minato had the command, and as it was for now, the Nanadaime had to follow the Yondaime's orders. Yet he had not been sure how long he could have keep up with him.

Lucky for him, Minato had slowed down right after the village came in view. Otherwise he might have collapsed after all.

The group was now nearing the town gate. Everything looked the same as Naruto remembered it, expect one difference: the gate was now closed, keeping every not welcomed visitor out.

Minato went in front of the gate and then turned to the right, facing the stall where the gatekeepers were sitting. This gatekeeper was sitting on his chair, bracing his head on his right hand. His eyes were covered by his black bangs. He didn't attach value to his fellow ninja as Minato stepped closer.

"Hey, gatekeeper", the Yondaime said. "We're back."

The man on the chair didn't answer. He didn't even look at Minato and just kept staring at the wooden surface of his counter. At least that was what it looked like. Because of his hair his eyes weren't visible.

"Would you mind open your gate for us?"

No response.

Minato actually seamed nervous and Kakashi was eying Naruto as if he was the cause of the gatekeeper's absent mental state. The blond ignored him. Not that he didn't care, but he needed all his willpower to keep his eyes open. There wasn't enough energy left to waste it on a glaring-contest with that chunin.

"Gatekeeper?", Minato asked again.

The man behind the counter snored.

Obito burst out in laughter. Kakashi looked a bit confused at first but then eyed Obito reproachfully. Judged by his expression, he did not think that the situation was funny at all. Rin had her hand pressed on her mouth and avoided to look at either Obito nor Kakashi. Otherwise she wouldn't have been able to remain silent.

On Minato's temple throbbed a vein. He closed the distance between himself and the sleeping man in front of him, grabbed his arm and pulled it out from under his head. The gatekeeper's forehead collided with the wooden surface of his counter with a hollow noise. His eyes flew open and his dead jerked up.

The man stroked his hair out of his face and looked at his opponent with a blank expression.

Then a smile spread slowly on his face and he said: "Welcome to Konohagakure." Obviously he hadn't realized the Yondaime yet.

"There are two questions on my mind", Minato started. "First: Why is the gatekeeper sleeping during his work, and second: Why the hell is there a mustache drawn on your face?"

Rin couldn't hold her laughter any longer and started giggling, while Obito already gasped for air. Tears were forming in the corners his eyes. Kakashi looked even more confused and his gaze wandered from the black-haired man to Naruto and back. That kid really was a warily bastard. Naruto had never seen this man before.

"Well, it's like this, sir", the gatekeeper started. "I unfortunately don't know the answer to the question number two. That is connected to the answer for question number one. But what are we talking about now, number one or num ... "

"Ok!", Minato disrupped him, obviously trying to regain his composure. "It's not that important. Just open that damn gate already, we need to talk to the Hokage."

The gatekeeper nodded hastily and stood up from his chair. He went over to the heavy wooden door. A large and rosty key was pulled out from beneath his jacked and inserted into the keyhole.

The gate swung open with and revealed the sight to a big street.

It was still early in the morning so the road was deserted, only a dog was sleeping in front of a stall.

The group walked through the gate and entered Konohagakure.

"What's so important that you would wake up the Sandaime at dawn?", the man asked.

Minato didn't answer, he simply pointed at Naruto. The gatekeeper turned his head to the blond boy and then his jaw dropped. He rubbed his eyes as if the boy would disappear once he opened them again. Of course Naruto didn't and so the black-haired man just kept on peering.

Naruto didn't notice the incisive stare. He was to busy watching the sleeping dog across the street ... and feeling jealous.

The gatekeeper brought his mouth closer to Minato's ear and whispered: "This little boy looks just like you. Who the hell is he? I thought you said that you don't have any relatives."

"None I know of, yeah. We caught him wandering around in the forest. Apparently he is a homeless ninja, searching for his, well, foster father or something like that. But if you ask me there's more than meets the eye. I haven't talked much to him yet. For me he is a walking mystery. Something about his story doesn't make sense. But I'm not ready yet to believe that he is spy either. And there's some kind of strange seal on his stomach. More or less an interesting case."

"Probably more 'more' then 'less'. Let's just hope you know what you're doing", the gatekeeper sighted. "Just keep in mind that your credulity could be dangerous sometimes. It's a hanging matter."

"You are one to talk, sleeping during your shift. You are the one riding for a fall."

* * *

><p>Hiruzen Sarutobi was in bad mood. He had been up late in order to finish his paperwork. Of course he had fallen asleep on his desk. The results were a sore neck, a leaked inkwell that had stained not only the documents but also his right hand black and a cold cup of tea.<p>

All in all the new day hadn't started really good. Why had Minato insisted on meeting with him so badly? At 5.35 in the morning!

The Sandaime grunted, he took his cold tea cup, opened his window and threw the liquid outside. He smashed the window close again and put the cup on his table.

A knock at the door interrupted his actions and he concentrated his mind on the guests. An ANBU member entered, behind him followed a tense looking Minato and his team: Kakashi, Obito and Rin.

A sixth figure followed. It was a young man, around the age of sixteen. He had bright blond hair that was cut short and spiky. Three whisker marks on each side of his face carved his lightly tanned skin. He looked worn out and tired. Dark circles covered the area under his eyes. These eyes. They immediately caught Sarutobi's attention. They were as blue and clear as the sky. And as he kept staring at them, he found himself captured by their depth.

"We're back old man!", Obito screamed excited. "We've brought someone with us! His name's Naruto."

He grabbed Naruto's arm and shoved him in front of the Sandaime. Sarutobi eyed the boy once again, then he turned to Minato and smiled.

"He looks like a little Minato. So you really have a relative, right Minato?", he stated. "Lucky you! We've searched so long without success and now he just drops in by chance."

Naruto didn't answer. He was just to tired. In his eyes the old man hadn't changed at all, still trying to see the best in every person.

"He's not my relative. Or at least I think so. We found him wandering around in the forest, seeking the village. We were not sure whether to trust him or not. So we brought him here."

"To dump the decision on me, like always. Well, since you want to hear my opinion I'll tell you", Sarutobi replied. "I like him", he simply stated and ruffled Naruto's hair.

"Can't an adult who by chance carries the title of Hokage behave like one once in a while?", Kakashi asked. "You've just meet him. That was not even five minutes ago and you're already trusting him. This country will go down the drain."

Obito just grinned. "I said that he is a spy that changed his appearance, in order to look like sensei. It didn't even come to my mind that he could be his relative."

"That's because you are an idiot."

"Could you two just stop fighting?"

"Of course, whatever you want, Rin-chan!"

"It's even worse. You are an idiot in love."

"Ok, you guys. Quit it!", Minato interrupted his pupils conversation.

Naruto felt yet again reminded of his time with team seven. That didn't raise his mood either.

"A spy, huh? No not even the shinobi of Iwagakure are that dumb. So why are you here?", Sarutobi asked him.

"I'm searching for someone. It's a ninja who has saved my life, he's something like a parent to me. But I haven't been successful yet so I came here in the hope to finally find him", Naruto explained the second time this day. These lies were getting really annoying.

"A ninja, huh? Any kind of special tally? A photo or a description?"

"Not really. He did never show me his face, was always wearing a mask."

"We have many masked people in this village. Our entire ANBU detachment wears them", Sarutobi answered.

"No, it wasn't an animal mask. It had a strange design it white and black."

The Sandaime turned to Minato. "Do you know a ninja in our village that description applies on?"

Minato shook his head.

"And you three?"

"U-uhh."

"I can't remember but I'm not entirely sure."

"No sir! Never ever ever!"

Naruto sighted. "Well, looks like I'm not right here either."

"Was that all for your visit?", Sarutobi asked the blond boy.

"No, not quite. I have been wandering around a lot, you know, and then ..."

"To make it short his chakra-flow is messed up. He says he had been caught up in an explosion and now he can't use it anymore", Kakashi disrupted him.

_"I'm standing right beside you bastard and I've already told you my name, so stop speaking about me like I'm not here."_

_**"Zzzz ..."**_

_"Yeah just keep on sleeping, you damn fox! One day I'll get you back for this!" _

"A messed up chakra-flow?"

"Yeah! I've been hoping that one of your medical ninja could fix that for me."

"That's no problem, we can handle that."

"Don't be so trustful, Hokage-sama", Minato suggested. "We don't know anything about him. It could always be just lies."

"No worries, Minato", the Sandaime assuaged him. "We'll have to look into his mind in order to check on his chakra. We'll just take that chance to convince ourselves if he's a spy or not." Sarutobi turned to the ANBU that had accompanied the group to the Hokage's office.

He had been standing in a corner of the room the whole time. Naruto had already forgotten that he was present. Konoha's ANBU was really talented.

He took the chance and looked closely around the room. Nothing was really different from his time. The desk was still at the same place and was untidy like always. Naruto doubted that that had ever been different, regardless of which Hokage had lead the village. Some seals on the desk caught his attention. It was a total of five identical seals.

In their appearance they didn't differ very much from the other seals that laid criss-cross on the desk. But unlike the other papers, which seamed to have been treated rather careless, these five did not have a single kink in them, let alone dog ears or coffee stains.

Sarutobi noticed his intense stare. He smiled at Naruto and shoved the five seals carefully under one of the countless open books on the desk.

"Cat, if you please?"

The ANBU with the cat mask stepped out of the shadow and went over to Naruto.

_"Look into my mind ... Oh, Shit! HEY, YA LAZY FOX! WAKE UP KURAMA! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!"_

_**"... Hn ... What do ya want, kit? Why are you waking me up?"**_

_"They said they were going to check my mind to find out wether or not I'm a spy and to find a cure for my messed up chakra!"_

_**"So?"**_

_"What 'So'? If they enter my mind they will find you there!"_

_**"Hahaha, don't worry, kit. Just let me take care of it."**_

_"Now I really do worry."_

_**"Don't panic."**_

_"I don't panic. Just wait until I've had a nice little nap and thought over the situation once again. The I'll panic."_

"Don't make such a face. It won't be painful", the ANBU told him and rested his hands on his temples. "At least if you've nothing to hide, that's it."

And then Naruto was forced out of reality, his vision became blurry, then the office vanished and he entered his own mind.

Oh, god!

* * *

><p>The man with the cat mask materialized in front of Naruto again.<p>

They were now standing on the large white lake without any end. Nothing seamed to be wrong here, expect for the blue and red glowing strings of chakra. The ANBU's eyes widened in surprise. Not that Naruto was able to see it trough his mask.

The ANBU memorized every detail of the shining net. Then he focused on the blond boy in front of him.

"I have a few questions for you in order to make sure you are not an enemy. I will cast a jutsu that will force you to speak the truth", he explained to the host.

Naruto just shrugged with his shoulders. "Fine by me." It was not like he would be able to hide anything down here anyway.

"Ok, here goes", the ANBU said and carried out a few complicated hand signs. His fingers started to glow with a blue light. He put them at Naruto's temples again and a shiver run up the blond's spine. The sensation was weird, like a raw egg that was dripping down from his hairline.

"Are you here to harm the village Konohagakure?"

"No."

"Have you any intention to give information on the village to our enemies?"

"No, I don't."

"Are you really only here in order to restore your chakra and to search for this masked man you mentioned?"

"Yeah, that's what I'm here for."

The ANBU nodded. "Ok one last question: That chakra of yours. I have never seen anything like it. Is it some special type of chakra? Are there other people who have a similar chakra-flow?"

"Yeah, it's kind of special. There are similar types of chakra out there but none that would be exactly the same. Chakras are unique."

"Alright that's it", the ANBU sighted. He would have loved to ask more questions but that chakra was the boys personal matter. He had the information he had been searching for. The boy did not mean any harm to the village. No need to remain in his mind any longer.

The ANBU closed his eyes and let himself be drifted back into reality.

* * *

><p>"No need to worry, sir", the man with the cat mask informed the Sandaime. "The boy does not desire to cause harm in any kind of way to the village. There should be no risk in letting him stay."<p>

"Very good", Sarutobi smiled at Minato. "I told you there's no need to worry. You are way too mistrustful. It's kind of sad what war does to people. If we would live in peaceful times nobody would have cared to check on a visitors intentions."

"But since we are forced to live in war, it's good that we are careful. Otherwise we would have already been given a good kicking", Minato replied coldly.

"Never mind! Soft blows to the back of your head will increase your intelligence!"

"Yeah, but they can also be deadly."

The Sandaime just rolled his eyes and turned back to the ANBU.

"What about his chakra-flow?"

The ANBU was silent for a while. "His chakra is something strange. I have never seen something like it before. It's hard to describe."

"Can we fix that somehow?"

"No, sir. I don't think we can. It really is a total mess. Nothing is on it's originally place anymore. It will take a lot of work to get it back to normal. I am certain that we don't have a medical ninja in the village right now who could heal this kind of injury without causing any damage. In the worst case the boy could even die."

Naruto's heart dropped a bit lower.

"But maybe ... "

"Yeah?"

"Well, I was just thinking that maybe 'she' could help him. If she's willing to."

" 'She'? But we have no idea where she is at the moment. She could be everywhere."

"I was just thinking loud", the ANBU said.

Sarutobi sighted. "Thank you. You can leave now."

The man with the cat mask vanished through the door and the Sandaime turned to the group of five people again.

"Who's 'she' old man?", Obito asked excited and waved with both of his arms whereby he nearly gave Kakashi a blow to the jaw.

Said masked boy was about to scream at his teammate but his eyes got caught by his sensei's face.

"Sensei, you alright?", he asked.

Minato really assumed a light shade of green. "You are not talking about 'her' are you, Hokage-sama?"

Rin looked confused.

"Would someone please tell me who 'she' is?", Obito demanded.

"Oh we will tell you, just be patient. But first I would like to speak to Minato in private. Kakashi, Obito Rin and Naruto please wait outside."

The three teenagers were heading to the door. Rin still looked a bit confused, Kakashi was obviously bored and Obito was deadly disappointed. Naruto himself didn't move.

"Hokage-sama?"

"Yeah what is it Naruto? I asked you to leave."

Naruto smiled one of his 'foxy smiles'. "I know but I have something to ask you. Since you asked me a lot of questions that would only be fair, don't cha think?"

"Fine, go ahead." _That grin always worked._

"I was just wondering. What are those seals for?", Naruto asked and pointed at the five identical seals that looked out from beneath the book.

"Oh, these seals?", the Sandaime answered. "They are nothing really special. You know that we are building a stone face for our new Hokage, don't you? But building this face does not just mean to carve it out of the mountain. There's a lot more work behind it then it might look like. We use seals for frost protection or to prevent the the stone from being damaged by the weather or climate. In the end there's a lot to do for keeping these faces intact. Every seal that's been used is made from a specialist, only the best. And if we can't produce the seal in Konohagakure, we import it from other countries."

"That's really interesting, old man!", Naruto stated exited. "I had no idea that the village would take the mementos of the Hokages so serious!"

"Yeah, whatever. Now get out before I ground your bones to powder and bake bread out of it."

* * *

><p>Naruto was leaning against the wall of the corridor. He watched the three younger kids: Kakashi and Obito were fighting again and Rin was trying to convince them to stop killing each other.<p>

Everything had gone unexpectedly well. It seamed like his resemblance with Minato had stopped the Samdaime from checking him more thoroughly. It was as if Sarutobi had wanted him to stay. For Minato's sake. As his relative.

_"That old man's really caring."_

_**"I can't stand him!"**_, Kurama answered his thoughts.

_"Be glad that he was. Otherwise this whole thing could have come to a bad end. That was just damn risky. Believe it!"_

_**"Oh, don't complain, everything turned out well." **_

_"Nothing but luck. Fucking simple luck!"_

Yeah, it had been nothing but luck that the ANBU had faced Naruto's direction when he arrived in his mind.

It had been nothing but luck that the questions had been so easy to answer.

It had been nothing but luck that the net out of chakra-strings and been such a breathtaking view that the man hadn't insisted on looking around.

It had been nothing but luck that the ANBU hadn't turned around.

Because if he had he would have seen it.

The giant orange fox-demon, towering over him, dangerous passion flashing in his blood-red eyes, watching every step of the intruder of his territory.

* * *

><p>Minato watched the back of the Sandaime who was now standing at the window.<p>

"Why did you want to speak me in private?", he asked.

Sarutobi turned around and faced the blond man in front of him.

"You've probably noticed that something with this boy isn't right. I don't think that he will be dangerous for the village, but he is hiding something. Something important. Kakashi said that 'Naruto', if that even is his real name, had been caught up in an explosion. But no normal explosion could cause this kind of damage to a person's chakra-flow. So something different must have happened."

Minato nodded slowly. "I figured that out, too. My guess is that some kind of powerful jutsu had been involved. Some jutsu so powerful that it was able to give him all these injuries. They could easily have cost him his life. Luckily for him we found him. It was probably not the case that Naruto was just 'caught up' in this 'explosion'. And I think that he was meant to be hit. Maybe it has something to do with the strange seal on his stomach."

"But who in the world would have an interest in killing a teenage boy? He is not known in the ninja-world either. What secret does this boy have?"

"Is that the reason?", Minato asked. "The reason why you want his chakras to be restored so badly?"

"One of them, yeah."

"What else would be important enough for you to get Tsunade involved in this whole mess?"

"Haven't you noticed it Minato?", Sarutobi asked in disbelieve. "His face, his hair, his eyes: He looks so much like you. Such resemblance without a blood relationship? I doubt it. There's a high possibility that we really have found a relative of you. I'm sure that Tsunade can ascertain a blood relationship beyond doubt. She is the only person I would trust on this."

Minato sighted. "Have you any idea where she is at the moment?"

"I have a guess."

"So you will send Naruto there?"

"No I will send you there."

Minato blinked confused.

"Naruto is injured. He needs to be treated and he needs someone who will look after him the next few days. Minato, since you are deeply involved in this case you are from now on responsible for the boy. You, your team and Naruto will set out tomorrow in order to search for Tsunade. Naruto's fate is now in your hands. And his secrets, too."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

* * *

><p><em>Thanks to those who have read through this chapter until the end.<em>

_Next chapter will be out around the end of the week. Then the real story will start._

_Please review :)_


	5. the legendary sucker

_Hey guys! Here's the next chapter._

_It took me a bit longer than usual to finish this. The reason - simple: I visited my aunt over the weekend, so there was no time for writing._

_As a little apology: A double-chapter!_

_Please review :)_

* * *

><p><strong>~ life is like drawing - just without a rubber ~<strong>

**chapter five: the legendary sucker**

Naruto was woken up by the rays of sunlight shining through the window of his bedroom. He groaned, sat up in bed and stretched his arms. A loud yawn escaped his mouth.

It was already morning and the sun had climbed over the mountains in the east.

_**"Morning sunshine"**_, Kurama greeted his host. _**"Feeling better than yesterday? You were tied up in knots an awful lot."**_

_"Mornin' my fluffy fox!"_, the blond boy responded cheerfully and gazed at the sunrise outside the window. _"Just look at this beautiful morning. How could I not be in good mood? I'm feeling like I've finally arrived in this age. The sun's still as fantastic as in our era."_

_**"That's good. I'm feeling relaxed, too. We'll get through the day."**_

Naruto snorted. _"That doesn't surprise me at all. You were sleeping through all the interesting events. Believe it!"_

_**"Oh, I think I remember the most important things"**_, Kurama snickered. _**"We were thrown back into this era by Madara. He has stolen our important scroll, the one all the lives of the jinjuriki depend on, and he's now searching for us in order to have access to it. We were on our way to Konoha so we can fix your messed up chakra-flow, when your father suddenly appeared and knocked you out. After that he brought us to the Sandaime. Said man decided that we should stay in Konoha and he offered help for returning our chakra to normal. That was after he made sure that you're no spy, of course. He let this ANBU guy enter your mind and that one was too dumb to even turn around. In the end everything worked out fine and we are currently staying at the Yondaime's place. Did I forget something? Oh yeah, since the Sandaime's oh-so-great medical ninjas couldn't fix our chakra we have to search for 'her'."**_

Naruto smiled. _"Correct, my foxy friend!"_

_**"Any idea who 'she' is?"**_

_"Tsunade, who else? She's the only person that would have more skill then the healers of the village. But since she isn't here I think that she has already left the village. So we must search for her."_

_**"Why does it always have to be so complicated?"**_

_"Otherwise it would be boring, wouldn't it? By the way, you left out another point. These guys are hiding something from us: The Sandaime selected a new Hokage, Minato, and the villagers are currently building his stone face. That doesn't make sense, cause we know that he won't be Hokage for at least a few more years. So what's the point in building a face now?"_

_**"Man, one mystery after another"**_, the fox grunted. _**"This is going to be such a drag."**_

_"You sound like Shikamaru. Yeah right, your voice even has the same bored tone."_

_**"That kid is the most levelheaded and deepest thinker I know. I picked that up from him, actually. I think that's a cool and wise saying."**_

_"He's a genius, isn't he? Even more than Sasuke or Neji are. And a lot nicer, too. Believe it!"_, cheered Naruto and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

He took a last glance at the beautiful sunrise, put on one of his foxy grins and left the room, searching for the bathroom in order to take a shower. It didn't take long to find it.

Minato's apartment wasn't really large, yet a lot bigger than the one Naruto lived in. It comprised a living room, a bedroom with a large and fluffy bed, a kitchen, a bathroom, a closet and the guestroom Naruto was staying in. Everything was tidy and painted in smooth yellow and red colors.

Naruto turned on the shower and stripped off his clothes. He was still wearing the same outfit he had been wearing when he had been sitting at his favorite ramen store. In his time.

After Minato had shown him his room yesterday, he hadn't bothered changing. He had been so tired that he had just fallen asleep on the spot. He hadn't even slipped under the blankets.

Minato must have put them over him. This silent care of his father touched Naruto and his smile grew even wider as he stepped into the shower and let the hot water run over his body.

He washed the dirt of the previous day off his body and checked his wounds. They had mostly healed, only a few scratches remained. The fox had done a good job.

Naruto turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. He shivered as the cold air his his skin, quickly grabbed a towel and started to dry himself. He snickered.

_**"What's so funny, kit?"**_

_"Oh, nothing, just happy that's all."_

_**"We're stuck in one of the most awkward situations I've ever heard of and you're happy? And I'm really old, I've been in a lot of awkward situations."**_

Naruto's grin grew even wider. _"Ya know, I haven't been thinking about it yesterday but __now I realized it. I'm in the past and that means that I finally have the chance to spend time with my family!"_

Kurama sighted. _**"I don't want to shatter your dreams but ... you sure know that they won't recognize you. And it wouldn't be such a good idea telling them the truth. Neither your father nor your mother. The Yondaime would probably die from a heart attack."**_

Naruto stopped drying his hair. _"Did you have to put me in bad mood?"_, he pouted.

_**"Whatever. Just make sure that they don't find out. Apart from that enjoy the time you have with them."**_

_"Alright believe it!"_

Minato was woken up by a loud noise. He grunted and turned to the other side, letting himself drift into sleep again. The next loud sound ruined it for him.

He turned on his stomach and pulled the pillow over his head, trying to muffle the racked that came from somewhere behind his bedroom door. But the noises still found their way straight into his ears.

_Damn it! _Minato rubbed his eyes and stood up from bed. He put on his clothes and opened the door. The sounds were coming from his kitchen. He made his way through the hall and peeked around the corner.

The blond boy was searching through his cupboards. And he was not exactly quiet. Naruto was only dressed in a towel that was wrapped around his slim waist. Drops of water were dripping down from his hair on the kitchen floor.

The boy didn't seem to have noticed him yet. He opened one cupboard after another and slamed them closed again. Apparently their content didn't please him.

"What are you doing so early in the morning?", Minato asked the boy who demolished his kitchen.

Naruto looked over his shoulder and spotted the man who was standing in the door frame. A smile spread on his face.

"Good mornin' Minato-san! Have you slept well?"

"Yeah, up to now. But I was woken by a hellish loud noise from my kitchen."

Naruto just shrugged and continued searching through the cupboards.

"What exactly are you searching for?", Minato asked the boy while he watched Naruto who was searching through his kitchen curiously.

"You see, I'm kinda hungry and ... Oh, there it is!"

Naruto had opened the last cupboard and pulled put a cup of instant ramen with a bright smile on his face. Minato's eyes grew wide. The boy turned to him and asked: "Do you want some, too?"

Minato shook his head. "No thanks. I'm not that much into ramen."

He went over to the stove and started to cook some water for Naruto's ramen and his morning-coffee.

The boy's voice was startled. "But you have at least twenty cups in here. How can you not be a ramen fan?"

Minato laughed. "They belong to my fiance. She's eating that stuff all the time."

Naruto frowned for a second but rallied again. Still that reaction did not went unnoticed by the Yondaime.

"You have a fiance?", the boy asked. "I didn't see anyone else in this flat."

"No wonder", Minato said and pulled out some coffee beans from a cupboard. "She's on a mission right now and my guessing is that she won't return for at least a week. Well, I think

she won't mind if you take one of her ramen."

Naruto grinned and leaned against the kitchen table.

"So you fiance's a ninja, too. Is she strong?"

Minato snickered. "Very! I wouldn't mess with her if I were you. She came to us from another village as a child and was always treated like an outsider. She was being bullied by the other guys in the academy, they teased her for her red hair, calling her a tomato. They thought she was some kind of helpless weakling. Well, soon after that she was feared as the blood-red Habanero. She has beaten more guys in the village than any other person here."

Minato smiled and let his thoughts drift off. "I even got to know her just because of her ramen. That was the first time I ever talked to her. She was sitting at a ramen stall and we started a conversation. Then she suddenly stood up and made a run for it, leaving me there with an amazing bill to pay. It was nearly unreal. I think that's what you call 'eat and run'."

Naruto's smile had dropped after hearing Minato's story. "She sounds dangerous to me. No way a girl with such a good taste as her could be such a scary person! Believe it!"

The boy's comment made Minato grin even brighter. He turned to the blonde boy and his eyes started to shine. "Of course not! She's a kind and caring person, always in good mood. She may be complaining a lot but in the end she never gives up. You remind me of her, actually. Oh yeah, and her red hair is soooooo beautiful!"

"Really? Then I should be proud, shouldn't I?", Naruto giggled and turned his attention to his waiting instant ramen.

Minato watched him as he poured the hot water over his noodles. He couldn't believe that just now he had told this strange boy some of the most important things of his life without even thinking about it.

The only person who had ever managed that was Kushina. He had had no idea that there was another person out there with such a unique talent.

That boy made him smile, just like Kushina always did.

"Coffee?"

"Yuck, no thanks!"

* * *

><p>Naruto stuffed the ramen into his mouth with an amazing speed. The grin seemed to glue to his face.<p>

He was just unbelievable happy. He had listened to the stories about his mother Minato told him. But it wasn't even the stories themselves that made his so happy. It was the way his father talked about his fiance. Minato had smiled like an idiot the whole time and his eyes had stared to shine. It seemed like the world had stopped around him. He hadn't even noticed that the water on the cooker had began to boil over. Minato had to love his future wife more than Naruto had imagined him to.

He slugged down his last spoon of ramen and threw the empty cup in the trash. His eyes fell on Minato who was sitting on a chair. The Yondaime gazed in abstraction at the seal on Naruto's stomach.

"Minato-san?", the blond boy asked and disrupted Minato's thoughts

.

The man was startled and his answer sounded a bit confused. "Yeah what is it?"

Naruto eyed the man in front of him. "You're really interested in this seal, aren't you?"

Minato took another sip from his coffee and narrowed his eyes. "Wouldn't you be? A boy appearing out of nowhere with a strange seal on his stomach? That's a really unusual place for a seal, too. Of course I'm interested!"

The man looked in the boy's eyes. Blue met blue.

"Would you tell me?"

Naruto smiled at him, but this time it wasn't the cheerful and warm smile that reminded Minato so much of Kuchina's. It was sad.

"Maybe someday", was the boy's simple answer.

There was a short time of silence between the two blonds who just kept staring at each other. Then Naruto broke the silence again.

"Do you have some cloths for me?", he asked and pointed at the towel wrapped around his waist. "I can't walk around like this all day and my old one's are totally messed up."

Minato had already forgotten that the boy was half naked, only dressed in one of his white towels.

He cocked his eyebrows. "I thought I left some for you on your bed."

Naruto grimaced. "Are you serious. Black? With that I will look like an emo, an idiot, a _teme_! Don't you have something more, well, colorful? Orange maybe?"

"Orange?", asked Minato startled. "I don't wear any orange. I have some green, blue and yellow, but orange? ... Oh, wait a second!"

Minato left through the door. Naruto could hear him search through the wardrobe in the bedroom. A few minutes later he returned and held up an XXL-t-shirt. It was mostly orange expect for its brinks that were bright red which slowly blended into the orange.

"That's a t-shirt from my fiance", Minato explained and handed it to Naruto. "She saved up money for it a long time, some kind of expensive brand, and when she had finally enough money to buy it, she put it in the wrong laundry. Then it turned from red to orange without her even wearing it once. Still she insisted on keeping it. You can have it if you want it. I guess she wouldn't mind."

"Your fiance's not quite the housewife, is she?", Naruto mocked the older blond.

Minato pouted. "You will have to deal with the black trousers. I don't have any other colour. Though, you could borrow one of my fiancee's red skirts, if you want to."

"Thanks, I'll take the trousers", Naruto said and took the t-shirt.

"Where are you going?"

Minato had grapped a jacked from one of the kitchen chairs and headed to the door.

"Oh yeah I nearly forgot." He turned back to Naruto and said: "I'm pretty sure that you've heard it yesterday: the medical ninjas that are currently at the village do not have the skills to fix your chakra-flow. So we need to ask another one for help. I'll explain the details later. My team and I are meeting up at a cafe near by and since this mission will concern you, I think it's only fair if you take part in it. I have to go to the Hokage-tower in order to get the documents for the mission so why don't you go ahead to the cafe without me? It's not far from here, I'll draw you a map how to get there, ok?"

* * *

><p><em>"Hey Kurama."<em>

_**"Yeah, what is it, kit?"**_

_"Well", Naruto squirmed uncomfortably. "I was just wondering ..."_

_**"Spit it out, kit!"**_

_"Uhm, ... Minato was talking about his fiance earlier ... You know, my mom ... The day I met her on that turtle island, she told me that she was once your host ... That's true, right?"_

_**"Yeah, it's true, kit."**_

_"So ... did you like her?"_

_**"_"**_

_"Kura-chan, please?"_

_**"When I was sealed in her body ... I can't really say. I never talked much to her. I always only thinking of a way to escape my prison. It wasn't like it is with you and me now."**_

_"So you didn't like her."_

_**"That's not quite it either. For me, humans always said the same: cursing me a monster and locking me away. They didn't care for me, so I didn't care for them. I didn't care when your mother was called a demon. I didn't care if she was hurt, not when she was nearly killed on a mission nor when she had her first fight with your dad. I didn't even care that I would hurt her. That I would kill her if I managed to escape. I just ... never bothered to get to know her."**_

_"Then what about me?"_

_**"Little kit, it was not like I could ignore you. You forced your presence on me. How could I not get to know you?"**_

_"_"_

_**"You know, being forced to live inside a human body isn't nice at all, with cages or not. But I ... I despised you for holding me captive ... I can't hate you. Believe it of not ... you are my first friend for a long time ... The only person I ever wanted to protect so badly ... And maybe even the only person I would die for ... Only you, my little kit."**_

_"Getting romantic, aren't we?"_

_**"You asked."**_

_"Thank you."_

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later Naruto passed through the entrance of the cafe. It was a small and unprepossessing building but it had large windows that let the sunlight shine on the little tables.<p>

On one of these tables four figures were sitting. Naruto recognized Kakashi, Obito and Rin.

Obito was eating scrabbled eggs like a pig and Kakashi watched him with disgust. The girl was nipping at her hot chocolate with whipped cream. She was the first one to notice Naruto.

"Naruto-san, over here!", she called out for him.

Naruto went over to the table and sat down between Rin and Kakashi. Obito looked up from his plate and grinned at the blond.

"Good morning! You seem a lot more relaxed than yesterday! How are you feeling?"

Naruto laughed. "A lot better." Then he turned to the other boy at the table.

That one was about the age of the other three. His hairstyle looked like a soup tureen. And these eyebrows. Naruto had seen a lot of different people in his life. He really got around a lot that time when he had still been training with Jiraiya. But he couldn't remember having seen such large eyebrows. Well expect for the totally crazy self-appointed 'Konoha's sublime green beast of prey' and his even more crazy student and admirer Lee a.k.a. pushy brow. His appearance really was remarkable.

Wait, that had to be Guy. At least the younger Guy.

The boy with the large brows noticed Naruto's intense stare and smiled at him. His teeth were sparkling.

"SO YOU'RE STARTING TO FEEL AT HOME A LITTLE?" Guy didn't ask him the question, he screamed it at him with a loudness that would have knocked out a brewery horse. Naruto flinched and covered his ears out of reflex.

"Sensitive, aren't we?", Kakashi mocked him with a caustic voice. "If you want to stay with us in the village you will have to learn to deal with that noisy thing", he said and pointed at Guy.

"KAKASHI SEEMS TO BE TOUCHY TODAY, RIGHT? NO NEED TO WORRY! I'M HERE TO SAVE THE DAY! I BET OBITO ALREADY TOLD YOU A LOT ABOUT OUR MASKED RIVAL HERE, DIDN'T HE?"

"Ehm, actually ... no."

Guy's cheerful face dropped. "No?", he asked and he wasn't screaming this time. And that got Naruto irritated.

"Obito didn't talk to you ... I ... I mean ... Did they even introduce themselves to you?"

"Uhm, well ... you see ..."

"What?" Young-Guy seemed even more shocked than before. If possible. "They didn't even introduce themselves probably?"

He cleared his throat and assumed a strange pose. "THEN LET'S CHANGE THAT! I'LL START: MY NAME'S MIGHT GUY AND I'M 12 YEARS OLD! I'M THE LEAF'S MOST YOUTHFUL CHUNIN EVER! THING I LIKE: THE POWER OF YOUTH! THINGS I DON'T LIKE: THAT DEPRESSIVE KAKASHI HERE WHO HAD ALREADY LOST HIS YOUTH BEFORE IT EVEN STARTED! AND OLD AND LAZY PEOPLE! LIKE MY SENSEI! MY HOBBY: TRAINING! MY DREAM: TO STAY YOUNG FOREVER AND LET THE POWER OF YOTH EXPLODE!" Guy elongated his thumb up in the air and his teeth blinked. Naruto considered to shield his eyes. _God, so damn bright._

"Go on, youthless Kakashi! It's your turn!"

Kakashi opened his mouth to talk and it looked like taxing work. "I'm called Kakashi Hatake. There are many things I like and dislike. Hobbies: not really. And my dreams don't concern you guys at all."

Naruto laughted. This guy really hadn't changed at all. That was the same way he had introduced himself to Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura when they were freshly gradueted genin. Well, except for the hobbies part.

"That was not very helpful Kakashi. All I learned is your name", he said and tried to remain calm and keep his smile on his face instead of yelling at his future-sensei to just open his damn mouth already.

"Well, my name's Naruto ... just Naruto. I'm 16 and a traveling ninja. Things I like: Ramen. Things I don't like: The 3 minutes I need to wait for my ramen to cook. Oh yeah, and cold bastards who think that they are better than everyone else!" The image of a certain black-haired boy with a duckbutt-hairstyle popped up in his mind.

"My hobbies: Compare different types of ramen. My dream for the future: ... I want to find that masked man."

"THAT WAS SO YOUTHFUL OF YOU, NARUTO! I CAN FEEL THE POWER OF YOUTH FLOWING WITHIN YOU! I'M SO PLEASED TO MEET A PERSON LIKE YOU!", Guy screamed at him, tears glittering in his eyes. He grabbed Naruto's hand with both of his hands and shook Naruto's whole arm.

"Rin, it's your turn!"

"My name is Rin. I'm a 12-year-old medical ninja and curently in a team with these two guys here." She pointed at Kakashi and Obito.

"Things I like are sweets and my team." Obito turned red but Rin didn't notice. She was too busy gazing at Kakashi with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Things I don't like are for example when Obito and Kakashi are fighting which happens quite often. My hobbies are reading and ..." She glanced shyly at Kakashi again.

"My dream is to become a great medical ninja and help many people and ... " Another glance.

Then she turned her eyes to the tabletop and turned bright red.

_**"Oh god! She's behaving like a giggling schoolgirl! Just look how she's drooling all over that all-people-think-he-is-so-great-but-I-would-say-he-is-a-goddamn-cold-bastard-just-like-his-traitor-student-who-he-thaught-that-fucking-chidori-technique-of-his-to-so-that-said-student-could-ram-it-right-through-your-chest Kakashi!"**_

_"Take it easy, Kakashi hasn't even developed this technique yet."_

_**"Who cares? Just let me rip him to shreds already! The sooner the better!"**_

_"You don't really like him, Do you?"_

_**"Let me kill him!"**_, the fox-demon roared and sent pictures of Kakashi dying one or another painful way through Naruto's mind.

"Ok, it's my turn now!" Obito obviously hadn't noticed Rin's behavior and Naruto's inner conversation.

"I'm the totally awesome Obito Uchiha! I'm in a team with lovely Rin-chan and Kakashi-bastard! Things that I like: Sensei and Rin-chan! Thinks I don't like: Kakashi! That bastard is only so lucky to be still alive because I don't have my sharingan yet! So somehow Guy and I are soulmates! And my dream for the future is to beat the hell out of Kakashi! I'm not letting Guy beat it to me! And to surpass sensei one day!"

Obito hugged himself with pleasure and continued to eat his eggs with a bright smile glued on his face.

"THAT'S THE SPIRIT, OBITO!", Guy cheered at the Uchiha. "SET YOUR GOALS HIGH AND BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! THEN YOU WILL ALWAYS STAY THIS YOUNG, I PROMISE! THE POWER OF YOUTH WILL MAKE YOUR STREINGHT EXPLODE LIKE NOONE'S EVER DID BEFORE!" He grinned and Naruto could swear that his teeth sparkled again.

_"Wow, he really didn't change at all, did he?"_

_**"You're making it sound like that is a good thing"**_, Kurama growled. _**"A bit more brain and sanity wouldn't hurt much."**_

"Why are you smiling like that, Naruto-san?", Rin disrupted his conversation with the fox-demon.

"Nothing, really Rin-chan." He gave her one of his foxy-grins.

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "I think because of the Sandaime's and sensei's kindheartedness we finally managed to gain a second Obito. I'm not quite sure if the village can survive that."

"Bastard!", was the Uchiha's comment.

Naruto snickered. "No, that's not it. I was just wondering ..." He turned to Obito. "I always thought that all Uchihas are cold-hearted bastards who never show their feelings."

Obito chocked on his scrambled eggs and started coughing.

Guy clapped his hands together in joy and amazement shone out of his eyes. "WHAT A WONDERFUL AND YOUTHFUL COUGHT ATTACK! DO YOU MIND IF I JOIN YOU?", he screamed and started coughing himself.

Soon they had the attention of the whole cafe. Rin turned red with embarrassment and she tried to look anywhere but her black-haired teammate. Kakashi stared at the two choughing boys and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. Naruto joined the two chunin with laughter.

"What the hell is going on here? Did I miss something important?" a voice behind Naruto asked. The blond boy turned around and looked at his father, still laughing. The Yondaime's face showed even more shock than Kakashi's.

Guy stopped coughing. "OH, A WONDERFUL GOOD MORNING TO YOU, MINATO-SAN!", he screamed and bowed in front of the Yondaime. "WHAT FANTASTIC NEWS FOR US THAT YOU WILL JOIN US FOR BREAKFAST! MY YOUNG FRIEND HERE AND ME WERE JUST EXPRESSING THE POWER OF YOUTH WITHIN US!"

_**"He seems to be screaming an aweful lot. How the hell can his throat still work as well as this in our era? A normal person would have ruined his voice by now." **_

Obito couldn't breath anymore and turned to an unhealthy shade of green. Minato went over to his coughing student and rubbed his back in a smoothing manner.

"Ok again?", he asked and continued to provent the boy from choking to death.

"Yeah, I'm ok", Obito said with a raw voice. "Thanks sensei."

Minato smiled at him and sat down on the free chair next to him.

"Good morning again, Minato", Naruto said and rubbed tears out of the corners of his eyes. "How was your meeting with the Hokage?"

"Oh, it was horrible", the blonde man sighted. "He still holds against me that I woke him up so early yesterday. Well, he sends us on a mission."

Minato looked at his team. "Listen, kids. As long as Naruto stays in Konoha team Minato is responsible for him. In order to fix his chakra-flow he will search for a woman. She's a great medical ninja. Her name's Tsunade."

A moment of silence followed. Rin's and Kakashi's eyes widened. Obito seemed simply shoked.

"We are searching for Tsunade?_ The_ Tsunade?", Rin squeaked excited.

"That's not true sensei, is it?", Kakashi asked and starred at him with horror.

Obito turned to Minato. He opened his mouth and said with a shaky voice: "Sensei ...

Who the hell is Tsunade?"

Kakashi nearly fell off his chair.

Minato sighted. "Well Obito, she ... "

"You brainless idiot!", Kakashi cursed and glared at his teammate. "Have you slept through all of your years at the academy? She's one of the great and legendary Sannin! She counts to the most powerful kunoichi Konohagakure has ever trained. She is said to have a fist that is stronger than the one of a tailed-beast. And her healing skills are better than all other healers of the village together."

"Well, that sums it up. She left the village a couple of years ago after the end of the second war", the Yondaime explained.

Obitos yaw dropped. "We are searching for such a dangerous person?", he asked. Then a smile spread on his face. "That's so awesome!"

Naruto snickered embarrassed. "Just in what way is that awesome? You're kidding right?"

_**"He's so much like you when you were young. Thank god that that candy-haired tomboy of yours finally managed to beat a bit of brain into your head. Looks like Kakashi's-fan-number-one still has a lot of work to do with that Uchiha-brat."**_

_"I really wish you would quite these comments."_

"See?", Kakashi mocked the Uchiha. "You don't even know him for two full days and you already grossed Naruto out. Way to go!"

"Kakashi, you bastard!"

Minato laughed. "Now now boys, don't fight. We will be going on a mission. Rin, you two, Naruto and me, Just the four of us! Isn't that great?"

Obito pouted. "Well, I guess ... "

"Ok, then let's get going! ... Guy, are you ok?", Minato asked and regarded the boy in front of him.

Guy stared at the tabletop. Naruto couldn't see his eyes. They were hidden by the shadows of his enormous eyebrows.

"You alright, buddy?" Obito asked with a concerned expression.

Guy shivered and then looked up to Minato. A waterfall of tears was flowing from his eyes.

Minato backed away from the crying chunin. "Guy, what the ..."

"YOU MEANY!", Guy cried. "HOW DARE YOU TO GO ON SUCH AN AMAZING MISSION WITHOUT ME!"

He stormed out of the cafe, still crying and left the whole group confused, staring after him.

_"That's his problem?"_

* * *

><p>The village was located at the foot of a volcano. It was one of the only larger villages that weren't affected by the wars. Old buildings lined the streets and an brick bridge led across a small crystal river.<p>

Naruto had asked Minato many times why he assumed that Tsunade would be here of all places. His father had just snickered and answered that he would find that out by himself if he'd just be patient and look closely enough.

Now that the group was standing on the main street of the village, that point was clear to Naruto. Every third store in this village was a casino.

Naruto sighted. "So that's it. She's a gambler."

"That's right", Minato answered and smiled at him.

"So we walked all the way here to ask some gambler for help?", Obito asked the Yondaime.

He was lying on the ground in front of Naruto and his tongue was hanging out of his mouth. In his opinion the weather was just way too hot. It was that kind of day a normal intelligent person would spent in a hammock eating ice cream, not moving a muscle.

Let alone walking dozens of miles to some godforsaken village in the middle of nowhere in the hope of _'possibly'_ finding a strange and dangerous woman in order to save a stranger from his own little problems that had nothing, _absolutely nothing_ to do with Obito.

Rin was sitting on her knees and breathed heavily. She hadn't imagined that reaching this village would be so hard. Her feet were hurting and her throat was burning.

Just why had Minato insisted on walking right over the top of this goddamn volcano instead of taking the path that was going around it?

Sometimes she really wondered if her sensei enjoyed seeing his team near breakdown.

"Wasn't there an easier way of getting here? A shortcut maybe?", she asked and took a sip from her water bottle.

Kakashi snorted. Unlike his two teammates he was standing upright and didn't show any sign of exhaustion. "You two are whining way too much. The way of a real ninja doesn't know any shortcuts."

Obito glared at his rival. "You are one to talk, bastard! Just in case that you didn't notice: You' shaking like a tree in a storm and sweating a lot more than Rin and me together!"

"You wish, brainless moron! Unlike you I have enough strength to not make a complete idiot out of myself by lying on a dirty street like some homeless dog! And I'm not sweating!"

"Lair! The only ones who were not breaking a sweat are sensei and Naruto!", Obito screamed at his masked teammate and pointed at the two blondes. "AND STOP READING WHILE I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

Kakashi grunted. "A conversation with you is just too boring. And now shut up, that part I'm reading right now is fascinating."

"Bastard!"

Naruto eyed his future sensei and was tempted to snatch the book out of his hands and slam it on that gray-haired head. It seemed like Kakashi already had the nasty habit of reading his books while someone was talking to him at the young age of twelve. At least it wasn't porn yet.

"How are you doing that, Naruto-san?", Rin asked him and pushed herself up from the ground. "How come you don't even sweat when we have just walked over this high mountain with this kind of temperature?"

Naruto had to think about that. Yeah, how? "Well, I guess I didn't think much about walking. I kinda was in thoughts."

That was no lie. He had talked to Kurama the whole time of the journey. He hadn't even bothered talking to his traveling companions.

"Yeah, you really were absent", Kakashi informed him from behind his book and raised a offended glare from the Uchiha.

Minato clapped his hands together and smiled at his students. "Ok guys, enough relaxed. Let's start with our search. One casino after another!"

"SENSEI! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?"

* * *

><p>Naruto was lying on the small bed. The last rays of the setting sun were shining trough the window and on his face. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the warm feeling on his skin.<p>

The group had been out the whole day. They had been searching through every goddamn casino and every godforsaken bar in the whole village and still, no trance of Tsunade.

Minato had even gone as far as searching in the bordels located at the darker edges of the village. But that hadn't helped him getting information on her either. All he had gained from that was a bunch of prostitutes following him around. Well, he was handsome and apparently had money, too. Best presuppositions for living a comfortable life. Especially in the times of war.

He had kept on telling them that he already had a fiance, but it was not like they would care. Almost every man that set foot into their beds were engaged or even married.

After the last bordel had been checked, every casino had been searched through by Kakashi, and Obito had looked under every table and chair of the bars, the group had given up the hope of finding Tsunade in this village.

Naruto had already given up long ago. But he was aware of just what kind of obsessed gambler that woman was. And since that place really was a metropolis of gamble, he had been sure that she must have been here at least once.

Apparently she had been seen, but not by trustworthy eyewitnesses.

In the end whether she had been here or not was not important. All that mattered was that she was not here right now. So he would have to search for her at another place.

Naruto sighted and turned on his side, facing the window. He starred at the rays of sunlight that made the dust in the air glitter like a million stars.

Minato had suggested to continue the search tomorrow and take a break for now. He had rented them rooms for the night in a small tavern at the edge of the village near the river. Naruto felt exhausted and incredibly tiered.

He knew that it was necessary for him to find Tsunade in order to fix his chakra-flow. Kurama had drilled into him the whole way from Konohagakure to this village that every day he spent without being able to use jutsu was getting more and more risky.

The fox was sure that an attack of Madara was only a matter of time. They had to be ready in order to fight or escape him. Naruto could not risk being helpless like this any longer, having to depend on the protection of the Yondaime or any other ninja.

He had to find Tsunade as soon as possible.

But the more Naruto was keen on finding his baa-chan, the more he started to worry.

_"Hey fox? We need to talk!"_

_**"Really? What's on your mind?"**_

Kurama interpreted his silence the right way. _**"You're worried because of Tsunade's abilities. You're worried that you won't be able to hide my existence within your body. Sounds about right?"**_

Naruto knit his brows. "_Well you must admit that Tsunade-baa-chan is a lot more intelligent then other medical ninjas might be. I'm pretty sure that she will be able to feel your presence. But it's not like we don't have any other choice, right?"_

_**"That's right, kit. Yet I have no idea how we should hide it it from her. But don't panic. I'll think about something. I will not let her hurt you. I will get you through that, without fail!"**_

Naruto was about to answer the demon but he was interrupted by a loud noise.

Naruto jerked up from his bed and dashed to the door. He quickly opened it and tried to spot where the racked came from.

A loud curse, a sound like shattering glas and the screaming voice of a woman. That came from downstairs.

Naruto rushed down to the pub. He burst through the door and then stopped in shock.

A little group of people was gathered around one of the tables. One of them was Minato. He was holding back a man who was much larger than him. The man's arms were extremely muscled and he had the build of a heavyweight wrestler. Minato seemed alarming small and fragile next to him.

The young woman that had screamed and clutched he hands over her mouth, a terrified look on her face. Naruto recognized her as the daughter of the host who had shown team Minato their rooms earlier this afternoon.

On the tabletop a roulette was placed. Playing cards where scattered all over the place.

On one chair on the other side of the table a young woman was sitting. Her head rested on top of her arms, hiding her face from the others. She seemed to be asleep. Her hair was long, not as long as Naruto had got to know her with, but it was still tied up in to ponytails that fell over her back.

_That was Tsunade!_

Naruto stared at the sleeping figure in front of him. So she hadn't been playing in the casinos but gambling with other people from the streets. Naruto shook his head. _How careless._

Yet he had found her sooner than he had imagined to.

His eyes fell on the three bottles of sake that stood at the table in front of the sleeping woman.

Naruto smiled. So that woman was drunk again. Why did she drink so much anyway when she couldn't even handle much alcohol at all? Well, that was Tsunade-baa-chan!

The man who was struggling with Minato roared like a bear and tried to shake the blond man of in order to throw himself at Tsunade.

He turned around and hit Minaro hard in the face. The blonds head flew back and blood dripped out of his mouth. The man took his chance and raised his fist against the sleeping woman.

It took not even a second. A fast movement, a harsh yell and the muscled man was on the floor with Minato on top of him. A kunai was pressed against his neck and the man stopped trying to free himself from the blonds grip.

Naruto smiled. Nobody was able to beat his dad in speed. Let alone a non-shinobi.

The door that lead to the hall flew open again and the three chunin Obito, Kakashi and Rin came running into the room.

"What the hell is going on here?"; Kakashi screamed angry at the group. "Can a person not read in peace?"

"Hey, what's happening? A fight? An ambush? A murderer?", Obito asked.

Naruto couldn't help but to mentally laugh at the boy. He was already wearing clothes for the night. He had taken of his diving goggles and the and he was wearing bright pink pyjamas with flower-pattern. _Pink, for god's sake!_

"No wrong movements my friend!" Minato hissed at the man underneath him. His eyes were glittering dangerously. "Or I will make sure that the next tombstone on the graveyard of this village bears your name!"

The man glared at him. "You fucking little blondie! Son of a bi ..."

"Are you sure that you really want to finish this sentence?", Naruto disrupted the man on the floor harshly.

The boy's voice was so cold that Minato could swear that the temperature in the room decreased for at least fifteen degrees as soon as the boy opened his mouth.

"I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you. Konoha's yellow flash has whipped out a lot stronger people. And he certainly won't hesitate to do the same to you. Did you ever try being the central character of a funeral?"

That shut the man on the floor up. Naruto couldn't stand him. He had just tried to insult his dad in the worst way, damn it!

Minato blinked at the blond boy and the three kids in pyjamas. "Sorry, did I wake you guys up? It was getting quite violent here. ... Obito, why are you wearing this disgusting colour?"

Obito turned bright red and looked away from his sensei, obviously embarrassed.

"I said the same thing to the mindless moron", Kakashi explained. "I feel ashamed for him! And that's something I only do when we're watching one of these damn talent-shows on TV."

"I really like the color. It fits him", stated Rin with a smile.

Judged from his expression that was the whole reason why Obito was that thing in the first place.

Naruto forced his mind away from the cute scene of young love in front of him and tried to focus on the more important events in the pub.

"Minato-san, what is happening here?"

"It's the best to ask this man here directly", Minato said and kicked the man in the ribs. "Well, start explaining!"

The man ground his teeth but another harder kick from Minato suggested him to do as he was told.

"This fucking bitch sleeping over there invited me to a game of roulette. First she gambled away all of _her_ money and then she bought sake _mine_ and drunk herself to coma! Not a single coin is left! This whore will pay up!"

Minato shrugged. "Well, that's your problem and it gives you no right to attack a sleeping and helpless woman. I will take Tsunade with me to my room and you will not dare to lay a finger on her again!"

"Tsunade?", Obito squeaked. "That woman over there's Tsunade?"

"Yeah mindless moron", Kakashi answered. "That's Tsunade, the legendary sucker."

"Are you crazy, you blond fucker?", the man on the ground screamed at Minato. "You're tellling me to forget about my money and let this bitch go? Go fuck yourself!"

Minato turned around and looked at Naruto. "Naruto would you mind taking Tsunade up to my room? I would like to have a word to this gentleman."

Naruto nodded and took a step towards the sleeping Tsunade. But then he stopped in his movement.

Asmile spread on his face. He changed his mind and went over to his father and the man who was held to the floor. He got down on his knees in front of him and looked the man straight in the eyes.

"So let's see if understood the situation here", Naruto started and pinned the man with his unique blue eyes. "You were gambling with Tsunade and lost all your money because she spent it on sake, right?"

"Of course I have! Have you even listened to what I said, you fucking ... "

"So, if you got back your money that whole thing wouldn't matter anymore, am I right?"

Minato knitted his brows. "Naruto what are you up to?"

"Am I right?"

The man nodded.

Naruto smiled. "Well, then I don't see any problems here."

_**"What are you talking about, kit? You're not planing on ... No stop that! That can go terribly wrong, just think about the consequences!"**_ Kurama warned him with a deep growl.

But Naruto ignored him.

"What the hell, little freak? Do you really think that you could pay up even the half of what this woman stole from me? Just let me beat her up and we're even!", the man laughed at him.

Minato growled and pressed the kunai against the man's neck, adding more pressure.

A smile spread on Naruto's face. "Let's gamble for it."

Minato's yaw hit the ground. "What?"

The man laughed. "Funny little brat! You really are! You can not win a gamble against me! I'm the gambling kind of this town! I've never lost a single game!"

Naruto kept smiling his sweet little smile. The man got nervous.

"Ok, let's just say you had a large amount of luck and were actually able to beat me: Do you think I would risk losing more money?"

Naruto grinned at him and stood up to his feet. "Yes I do!"

The man's eyes grew wide as he watched him. The blond boy went over to the roulette on the table and picked up the little black ball from the desk.

"I say you would risk it. You are a gambler with heart and soul. You can't withstand the risk."

Naruto rolled the ball between his fingers. "Your bet?"

"Black 16!"

Naruto let the ball fall into the roulette and turned the wheel.

"I bet on red 9."

* * *

><p>"Now you've really gone and did it, haven't you?", Obito asked the cheerful blond boy.<p>

"Oh my little froggy!", Naruto cried and hugged his toad-shaped wallet. "You look soooo much cuter when you're full like this!"

_**"Ah, you really gave me a heart attack, kit. Red 9! That was a good guess."**_

_"Well, I've always been a lucky person. And now that I have my fluffy orange foxy lucky charm, nothing can go wrong!"_

_**"I'm taking that as a complement."**_

"So Naruto!", Obito started. "How a ... "

"Hush Obito, be silent." Minato laced his finger on his lips and pointed at the sleeping woman in his bed. "Tsunade's waking up!"

Tsunade groaned and opened her eyes. The room around her was dark and only lighted by one single bulb that hung from the ceiling.

A blond man with blue eyes was bent over her and checked her face.

"You ok now?", he asked with a pleasant voice that was so familiar to Tsunade.

"Minato?", she asked and rubbed her eyes.

"Who else do I look like?", he asked her.

"I didn't know that you had two heads."

"You drink too much, old lady!", came a voice from behind the blond man.

Tsunade sat up in her bed and immediately grabbed her throbbing head. She blinked through her eyelashes and scanned the room.

Three children were gathered around her bed. That insulting comment just now came from the one with the bright pink pyjamas.

Normally she would have beaten this little brat up for this, but now ... She actually considered that he might have been right.

What she saw let her heart skip a beat. She stopped breathing. _That boy ..._

"Minato, I'm seeing double", she informed the Yondaime and pointed at Naruto who was standing behind Minato.

The blond man laughed. "Oh no, Tsunade! That's got nothing to do with your eyes. He's Naruto, the newest kid in Konoha and currently under my watch."

Naruto smiled at the woman in front of him and reached out his hand. He grabbed Tsunade's and shook it. "Nice to meet you!"

"My pleasure", the woman growled and turned to Minato again. "May I ask why you are here? I've left the village a long time ago and I won't be coming back. You know that, so what's your goal?"

"I'm not here to convince you to come back. That's your decision, not mine. I came here to ask for help."

"Help?", Tsunade asked wary and raised an eyebrow. "Konoha's great yellow flash is asking for help?"

"You see, we need you to fix this young man's chakra-flow", Minato said and pointed at Naruto.

"Huh? Chakra-flow? What are you talking about?"

"Well, this boy came to our village asking for help in order to fix his messed up chakra-flow. Since no one in the village seems to be capable of doing it, we came here to ask you."

"Messed up?"

"Yeah, nothing's at it's right place anymore. So he's not capable of using his chakra either", Obito informed the woman.

"You came to me so that I can bring that boy's chakra-flow back to the right order?"

"That's it!" Minato grinned at her.

"No."

Naruto's heart dropped.

"Huh?"

"I said no. I won't do it!"

Minato stared at her. "You refuse to help that boy? But why?"

"You don't need to know."

"But Tsunade", Minato whispered. "This boy has a goal to achieve."

And them the anger came crashing down on him.

"WHY DO YOU REFUSE TO HELP THAT BOY WHEN YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO ..."

"SILENCE!"

Minato froze and clapped his mouth shut.

"Are you really that heartless Tsunade?", he asked and disgust was dripping from his words.

Tsunade pushed herself forward and grapped the collar of the blond.

"You don't know anything! Why don't you just keep your mouth shut? A ninja's chakra-flow is equal to his life! IF I WOULD TRY TO CHANGE THAT IN ANY WAY I WOULD RISK HIS DEATH!"

"_"

"_"

"What?"

"I ... I would die?", Naruto whispered. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You're lying old woman", Obito jumped on his feet and glared at her. "Who the hell are you and what have you done to one of the great sannin?"

Tsunade closed her eyes. "That's right. This kind of operation ... the patient only has a twenty percent chance of surviving."

"Twenty percent?" Minato was shocked.

A twenty percent chance to surviving! Just what had that boy gone through that caused so much damage to his chakra-flow?

Minato lowered his eyes. "If it's like that then maybe ... "

"Hold on a second!" Rin's vigorous voice disrupted him. Her eyes where glittering with a restive force. "I think it's not up to you to decide whether Naruto gets operated or not!"

"But Rin-chan!", Obito whined. "It's just reckless ... "

"It's his decision and his alone! Give him the chance to decide by himself!"

"But ... "

"Shut up, Obito", Kakashi advised.

Naruto was staring at the ground. Twenty percent. And if it failed he would die. And not only he, but also Kurama.

Yet, he had to find Madara at all costs. He had to get the scroll back.

_But could he really risk that?_

And then a memory forced itself into Naruto's mind. It was a memory of this days as a genin. The day of the chunin exam.

_'Every ninja who is not able to take risks, every ninja who hesitates when he's confronted with death, is not worth calling himself a shinobi of the hidden leaf!'_

"Tsunade-san", Naruto heard himself say.

Then he lifted his head from the ground and looked right into the woman's eyes. Straight and resolved.

"Please commence the operation."

* * *

><p><em>Thanks to everyone who has read the story up to here!<em>

_I'll never get tiered of saying it: PLEASE REVIEW :)_

_That was a long chapter. Actually I planned on making it even longer but for that I would had have to write for at least another whole day and I don't have time for that now that school started again._

_Next chapter will come out soon! _


	6. Lady Luck is one funny bitch

_Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. A longer one again._

_I've gotten nice review on the last chapter so I tried my best for this one, too._

_I hope you'll enjoy it._

_Like always: please review :)_

* * *

><p><strong><strong>~ life is like drawing - just without a rubber ~<strong>**

****~ chapter six: Lady Luck is one funny bitch ~****

It was dark. A dark place, no lights. A place ? ... No, not a place. Just darkness.

Cold darkness. It was cold. Damn, it was so cold.

There was no warmth here, no light. So why? Why did he feel nothing, not even the coldness? Why did it feel so comfortable?

His vision was blurry. A flash of light, a sharp pain running up his spine. Then again darkness.

His breath was heavy. Was he even breathing? He didn't feel it.

He didn't feel anything.

Then the light returned, pushing the darkness away. Not just light, but the pain. Consuming pain.

He wished it would just go away. Just _end_.

The darkness at the that had lingered at the edges of his mind started to get closer again.

The pain started to fade away. Finally it would stop. He would have smiled, but he couldn't move. He couldn't feel his face. Was he even still in his body?

" ... !"

It didn't matter cause the pain faded. He drifted away, leaving it behind, together with the sharp light.

" ..ay he... ! ... t ... !"

Finally.

" ...stay he ... ! ... n't ... edg ... !"

And then it found him. The pain.

Like a bloodthirsty animal. The wave flashed over him taking him back, away from the blissful darkness, the place where pain couldn't follow him, the nothing.

Light. Colours. Screams. Pain. Hands.

A voice.

"You have to stay here! Don't set a foot over the edge!"

Edge? What edge?

"Don't you dare ... stay here! Stay ALIVE!"

Life? That was life?

That was not Life.

That was pain. It hurt._ Take me back to the nothing._

The light hurt his eyes. A sharp sting. Where did that comfortable darkness go? _Take me back to the darkness._

It hurt. It hurt so bad! Tearing him apart. His body, his mind, his soul.

_Stop it! Please take me back! Please! PLEASE!_

_TAKE ME BACK TO PARADISE!_

Something leaned over him. He could see it. A shadow.

He could feel it. Hands on his chest.

He could smell it. A lingering smell, sweet and heavy.

A falsh of light. A second voice. And ... THE PAIN!

"STOP IT! PLEASE! YOU'RE KILLING HIM!"

Kill?

"SHUT UP! JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE!"

"YOU'RE LEADING HIM TO DEATH!"

Death?

"His chakra ..."

"YOU ARE STILL TRYING TO CURE HIS CHAKRA?"

That voice ... was that _horror_?

"STOP IT, TSUNADE! HE IS DYING!"

Dying?

"Shut up, ... ato! I've almost healed his chakra-flow!"

"Chakra-flow? CHAKRA-FLOW? ARE YOU CRAZY? HE IS DYING UNDER YOUR HANDS!"

"SHUT UP! ... I KNOW THAT!"

"THEN WHY? WHY DO YOU KEEP GOING?"

"I CAN'T STOP NOW! I DON'T KNOW ... WHAT HE WILL BECOME IF I STOP NOW!"

"I KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU DON'T! YOU! WILL! FUCKING! KILL! HIM! STOP THIS INSANTY RIGHT NOW!"

_Please take me back_.

"Pleas ... ta ... ack ... "

"Naruto! Naruto, can you hear me?"

"Hang on, brat! Just a little more!"

"Naruto, no! Talk to me!"

A flash. Light. Pain. A scream. His voice? His own scream was ringing in his ears.

_**"No!"**_

"NARUTO! PLEASE! DON'T DIE ON ME!"

Die?

"Please ... "

_**"No, kit! Don't!"**_

"What are you saying, brat? I can't understand you."

_**"Hurry up, hag!"**_

"Please ... ie ..."

"NARUTO! I CAN'T HEAR YOU! PLEASE TALK TO ME!"

"Please ..."

A breath. Splinters of glass in his lungs. Pain.

_**"Don't say it, kit!"**_

"Please ... let me die."

Silence.

No movements.

The pain faded.

The light grew smaller, just a little glowing point far away.

The darkness returned, closing around him.

Coldness in his limbs. Easing his burning flesh.

He smiled.

Something fell on his face. It rolled down his cheek. It was hot.

Again. Again. And Again.

Fire? It burned. But ...

Tears?

A cry. So hurtful. _Please stop crying. I don't want to hear you cry. It hurts._

"Live."

_**"Kit!"**_ Another voice. But he didn't hear it. He couldn't hear it.

Just that cry.

_Please stop crying. Why are you crying ?There's no need to cry. Can't you feel it? The pain is going away. Everything will be fine. So why are you crying?_

"Live. Please live. YOU NEED TO LIVE!"

Water fell on his face. Hot tears. Again and again. And they brought light.

No sharp stinging light. Not white. But warm and yellow.

He opened his eyes. His vision was blurry.

He couldn't see.

"Please, don't leave."

There. Was that a shadow? No, it wasn't black. It was yellow. And there was another colour. Blue.

A face.

"Please, don't leave me."

He knew that face. He knew he did. But he couldn't remember. Where ...

"Please live."

A voice. Dark and clear but breathy. He knew that voice.

"Please."

More tears. Where hat the man's ... or his own?

"Please, stay by my side."

A smile.

"Naruto?"

He smiled at the silhouette. A smile, full of happiness ... and sadness?

He knew that man. This place, the warm yellow surrounded by darkness.

That was death.

_**"You are more trouble than you're worth, kit."**_

Another breath. This time no glass. The pain was gone.

"Da ..."_ Dad._

He closed his eyes. The sad smile still on his face.

And then he let go.

His head fell to the side, resting on a soft ground.

The smile never left his face as he drifted of and let the yellow warm light wrapp around him, like a warm blanked.

"NARUTO!"

All that followed ... was silence.

* * *

><p>The sun shone through Naruto's eyelids and tainted his dark dream blood-red. Could the world not let him sleep in peace for once? In his opinion the last week had brought enough trouble.<p>

He tried to shield his eyes but his hand didn't want to move.

He tried to turn away from the window but he couldn't.

Damn. He groaned. His voice sounded husky and raw. Naruto slowly opened his eyes and blinked in the sun that shone trough the window.

He moved his fingers in order to sit up in the bed and immediately regretted it. Fuck, why did his body hurt so much? His limbs felt numb and a dull throb run through his veins in conformity with his heartbeat.

At least every of his limbs seemed to be in place and his organs where they belonged, _inside_ his body.

With every breath he took it felt like somebody was letting firecrackers explode inside his lungs. He coughed and someone had obviously started a whole firework.

Naruto clenched his teeth, shoved his arms under his body and lifted his torso from the mattress. A sharp pain run up his spine.

Damn, just what had happened last night? He couldn't remember anything. Did he run into a herd of gnus or something?

A mob of blond hair next to him caught his attention.

Minato was sitting on a chair next to his bed. His head rested on the mattress on top of his arms. His eyes were closed and his breath was deep and slow. That guy was obviously sleeping.

It seemed like his father had been sitting next to him, waiting for Naruto to wake up.

Naruto tried to smile but his face begun to sting so he gave up on this one.

Minato could be really sweet if he wanted to. Now wonder his mother felt so attracted to him. A good choice.

Naruto shifted his weight on one arm and reached out to ruffle his father's hair.

He was not really successful. His arm yielded under the pressure and he felt back on the mattress rather ungracefully. He trapped his arm under his body which caused it to twist in a strange ankle. And that hurt.

A high laughter disrupted his swearing.

"If you can't move without pain, you shouldn't try to be an acrobat."

Naruto's gaze fell upon a small girl next to his bed. She was about the age of Rin, maybe a bit older. She had long black hair that she had tied up in a plait pigtail. Her smile was nice and warm. Give her a few more years and she will be a beautiful woman.

_**"You're not checking her out, aren't you?"**_ That was Kuramas comment.

_"Oh shut up, she's way too young for me. But still, I am a healthy young man, so why should I justify myself when I check out a girl? I'm sure she's gonna be quite the looker when she's grown up." _

_**"Sure whatever."**_

Naruto knitted his brows. It was unusual for the fox to give up on his teasing so early. Normally he wouldn't waist the chance of embarrassing him.

The girl laughed again. "You don't have to look at me like that. Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself to you: My name's Shizune. I'm Tsunade-sama's ... well, apprentice."

Naruto's eyes grew wide. Shizune?

_**"Hah, you hit on your Baa-chan's little footboy."**_

_"I didn't hit on her!"_

Still, it was odd. He had managed to recognize every person in this age so far. But not Shizune.

_**"That's because you are one-dimensionally hardwired. Just one change in appearance and you won't recognize your closest friends."**_

He looked again at the girls face. This time more closely

That damn fox was right: The only thing that was different about this young-Shizune was the length of her hair.

Naruto tried to turn over to the girl, but the sharp pain in his arm stopped him. He closed his eyes and moaned.

"It's a bit embarrassing but ... could you help me get up from this bed?"

Shizune smiled at him. "That's no problem. That's what I'm here for."

She grabbed a large pillow that lay on the floor and leaned over Naruto. She put her arms around his waist and lifted his upper body from the mattress.

For a girl at her age she really had some strength. He just guessed that Shizune couldn't get around some strength training and Taijutsu skills with a teacher like Tsunade.

She pulled his jammed arm out and put the pillow under his body.

The boy blushed when his face was shoved in the girl's cleavage. He didn't remember Shizune being so forward in his age.

The girl rested his upper body on the fluffy pillow and raised herself from the bed.

"Thanks, that wouldn't have ended pretty if you didn't happen to be here. Believe it!"

Naruto smiled and pointed at the sleeping Minato on his bed. "It's not like I could really depend on him. I think he wouldn't wake up even if I scream my lungs out."

_"**Stop flirting."**_

_"I. am. not. flirting. She's not my type."_

_**"Then what's your type? Pink-haired tomboys?"**_

_"You don't like me today, do you?"_

Shizune giggled in her hand. "You shouldn't be too hard on him. He has been watching over you the whole time you were unconscious."

"Then he should be paying attention instead of sleeping on my bed."

"Well, he has been awake two day's, you know."

Naruto frowned. "Two days? I have been sleeping for two whole days?"

He scrubbed the back of his head and asked: "Uhm, could you tell me what happened?"

She seemed surprised. "You don't remember?"

The blond shook his head.

Shizune sighted. "Maybe I'm not the right person to tell you. I was not there during the operation."

The operation. Naruto remembered.

He had asked Tsunade to carry out the operation that would get his chakra-flow back to normal. He remembered that Tsunade had told him to lay down on the table and that some kind of medicament had been injected in his arm. The old woman had told him that it would prevent him from feeling any pain. Judged from his current condition that hadn't worked as good as she hopped it would.

"So", he asked Shizune. "Did it work?"

To his shock the girl in front of him averted her gaze and started shivering. "Shizune-chan?"

"I ... I wasn't there when it happened. At first everything seemed to go just fine. Tsunade-sama let Obito-kun, Kakashi-kun, Rin-chan and me watch. She said that it would be a good opportunity for Rin-chan and me to learn from the work of a master."

The girl's eyes darkened and her voice was getting low. "But then something went wrong. You had been sleeping through the operation but suddenly your eyes flew open and ... your expression, it was so empty. You seemed to be far away. You didn't recognize any of us. And then you started to scream. It ... it was scary. Tsunade-sama sent us outside so that we wouldn't get in her way and so that we ... wouldn't have to watch."

A shiver went down Naruto's spine. So that dream ... it hadn't been a dream. Oh god.

Shizune continued he story. "We only heard what was going on from outside the room. You were screaming non-stop. Kakashi-kun could hardly stop Obito-kun from running down the door. Minato-san was screaming at you the whole time to stay alive but ... it didn't seem like he was successful. And than you ..."

"Yeah?" Naruto was scared of what would be coming next.

"You ..." Shizune closed her eyes. "You told them that you wanted to die."

"I did?" Shizune nodded.

"At that point the sounds turned into a mess. Minato-san and Tsunade-sama were constantly screaming at you to stay by their side but in the end ..." She gulped. "Your screams stopped. The next thirty minutes really count to the most horribly moments of my life. Then Tsunade-sama opened the door and told us that we could come in. She looked so worn out and Minato-san seemed to have cried a lot. They had lain you down on the bed and you looked really terrible. I thought that you had died. But Tsunade-sama told us that she had managed to safe your life for now. But if you would wake up or not was up to you. Minato-san stayed by your side the whole time. He didn't speak, sleep, eat or drink anything. He was just sitting next to you and holing your hand."

She got silent and the blond could see in her face that she let the memories take her away to a place somewhere in her mind.

Naruto's laughter interrupted the girl's dark thoughts. She looked at him and her eyes where showing confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just think I have gotten myself a father."

Shizube giggled. "He sure acts like one, right. Time for his to get his own kids. I think he would have done that years ago when he first meat his fiance but I think she's the one who wears the pants in their relationship."

Naruto gulped. "What are you saying. They were both in the academy when they first meat."

Shizune smiled an evil smile. "That doesn't mean that he would have cared." Ok, this girl was really not the Shizune he knew.

"Well, I will go downstairs and tell Tsunade-sama that you have woken up before she drowns her worries in sake again. You need to get checked through before we can sick Obito-kun on you. Just you might not be strong enough yet to survive this kind of attack."

She gave him a breath taking smile and vanished trough the door.

"_**Not the Shizune you know, my ass. That girl is a pervert. Be careful or she will jump you in your sleep. But, maybe that's what you want. Some fucking whore she is and you are not any better."**_

_"What the hell is wrong with you today?"_, Naruto snarled at the fox._ "You used to be a teaser but your jokes never got so mean and personal."_

_**"_"**_

_"Hey I'm talking to you!"_

_**"_"**_

_"Didn't you hear me?"_

_**"Whatever"**_, Kurama snapped.

Naruto was furious. Why was that damn fox being so cold? He braced himself for a poisonous answer but then something in his brain clicked. Wait, could it be ...

_"Kurama ... are you ... well, somehow mad at me?"_

_**"_"**_

_"Kura-chan?"_

_**"TSUNADE MANAGED TO SAVE YOU? LIKE HELL! THAT DAMN OLD HAG NEARLY KILLED YOU, KIT! YOU WERE TOTALLY GONE, AT THE DOOR OF DEATH! DAMN IT ALL! YOU WEREN'T EVEN ABLE TO HEAR MY VOICE! THE ONLY ONE WHO SHOWED A BIT OF BRAIN IN THIS SITUATION WAS THE YONDAIME! HE BEGGED THAT WOMAN TO STOP! TO SAVE YOU INSTEAD OF KILLING YOU! AND I COULDN'T DO A FUCKING THING! DAMN IT TO HELL!"**_

Naruto was shocked. He had expected a lot: Like the fox would be mad at him for taking the risk and nearly dying because of that choice. But not that.

_"Kura-chan?"_

_**"AND THEN WHEN SHE HAD FINALLY MANAGED TO GET THE GOD DAMN CHAKRA-FLOW IN THE RIGHT ORDER AGAIN, SHE LEFT YOU LYING THERE HALF DEAD BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH CHAKRA LEFT TO FIX WHAT SHE MESSED UP!"**_

_"Kura ... "_

_**"IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR ME THAN HER PRECIOUS 'GAKI' WOULD WOULD NOW BE SOME RANDOME CORPS ROTTING AWAY AT THE NEXT GRAVEYARD! LEFT THERE FOR SOME FUCKING ANIMAL TO EAT FOR BREAKFAST! BECAUSE SHE WAS TOO WEAK TO FINISH WHAT SHE STARTED! **_**I****_ SAFED YOUR LIFE! _I _PULLED YOU FROM DEATH'S DOOR DRAGGING YOU BACK TO THE WORLD OF LIVING! IF SHE HADN'T BEEN ABLE TO SEPERATE MY CHAKRA FROM YOURS, I WOULDN'T HAD BEEN TO DO ANYTHING! JUST WATCHING YOU DIE!"_**

_"Ku ..."_

_**"AND THEN THE FIRST THING SHE DID AFTER THEY PACKED YOU INTO THAT BED WAS TELLING THESE LITTLE BRATS THAT EVERYTHING WENT FINE! NOTHING! WENT! FINE!"**_

_"KURAMA!"_

The fox went silent but Naruto could steel feel his anger in his mind.

_"Kurama ... thank you."_

The Nine-Tails grunted. _**"**__**No need to thank me. I will help you out if you need me. **__**Actually I don't feel like dying myself."**_

_"Oh! So that was the whole reason behind it? You are a self-centered orange fluffy bastard. Believe it!"_

The door flew open and a lightly drunk Tsunade nutated into the room. Her face was so full of happiness that it really scared Naruto.

"So you really survived gaki!" She laughed. Yeah he had survived up to now but ... he was not so sure if he would witness the next sunset.

"How are you ... !" She didn't come far.

She was knocked to the ground by a little shadow that sprinted trough the door like he would get discounts at IKEA. Minato was shoved from the bed and landed on his back with a thud.

The next thing Naruto could realize was a dark mob of hair blocking his sight, a weight in his lap and two arms crushing him to death.

"Gah ... Obi ... can't ... eath. Le ... go ..."

"I was so scared!", the boy on his lap screamed right into his ear. "Damn, I thought you had died! That will cost me ten years of my precious life!"

"S ... ry!"

"Get off, brat!" Obito was ripped from his lap by Tsunade. She was bleeding out of her forehead and she seemed to be really mad at the boy.

Mad? No, that adjective didn't fit. _Ready to kill._

"You ruined my beauty! You will pay!", she screamed and started hitting the Uchiha's head.

The boy tried to shield his face with his arms but have you ever tried to stop a hippo from stomping you in the ground with just a couple of arms? Right, totally pointless. Tomorrow he would look like not just one hippo, but a whole herd had ran over him.

"He deserves it. He should stop acting like an idiot and embarrass himself in public. You reap what you sow."

Kakashi and Rin had followed their teammate in the room and Naruto was glad that they

didn't jump him like the Uchiha did. His spine wouldn't survive two more rounds.

Kakashi was watching his teammate being beaten up by an older woman and he seemed to enjoy it. A smile spread on his face. Well, Naruto couldn't see it because of his mask but his eyes started to shine. _That sadist!_

Rin glanced from Obito to Kakashi and then to Naruto. She gave him a shy smile and stepped next to his bed. She glanced over shoulder again to check if Kakashi was still too fascinated by the woman that beat up his teammate to pay attention to her.

Since that was exactly what the bastard was doing she turned around and gave Naruto a quick and short hug.

"God, it's good to see that you're still alive. I was really scared!"

"Don't worry. What ever you say, U ... nbelievable Naruto never backs down!" That was close! Lucky for him that Rin was again so fixed on Kakashi's sardistic smile that she didn't notice his hesitation. Just what about his future-sensei was so magnificent to her?

Tsunade threw Obito into the wall. The boy fell to the floor and mumbled something that sounded like 'witch'.

The disappointment was written on Kakashi's face as he turned around and looked at Naruto. that was hard for him but the show was over and the only interesting thing in this room was now Naruto.

"Why are you staring at me like this? Do you believe that I would give you a hug?"

"_"

"Forget it! I won't! I'm not gay!"

"So hugging a friend makes you gay?"

"You're not my friend!"

The fist that landed on top of his head silenced him immediately.

"Shut up, shorty!", Tsunade glared at him. "That guy has gone through enough and he doesn't need your ungrateful comments."

Kakashi grunted and gave the woman a look that made clear that he wanted her to disappear in some hole and die a very painful death.

Naruto giggled. "Thanks Tsunade-baa-chan!"

"Baa-chan? I'm not even forty yet!"

"Never trust a person over thirty. All sly dogs." Minato had stood up from the ground and rubbed his back.

"Hey Obito, you didn't have to shove me of the chair, you know!" He yawned and looked around in the room. "Did I miss something? What happened that everybody is here?"

Then his gaze fell on Naruto who was leaning against his pillow.

"Hello, Minato-san!" The boy smiled at him and waved, trying not to show how much that hurt.

"Naruto ..."

The blond blinked.

And for the second time of the day Naruto felt like he was being crushed by a constrictor.

He gabbed for air and tried to wiggle out of his dad's tight embrace. But Minato squeezed him even tighter and buried his face in his son's hair.

"I'm so glad", he mumbled so lowly that even for Naruto it hard to understand him. Minato's arms that were clenched around Naruto's shoulders pulled the boy even close to his chest.

Naruto's head rested on his father's shoulder, being held in place by a strong hand on the back of his head.

"Thank god", Minato sighted in his hair and Naruto could feel something hot falling on his scalp. Minato was crying, slightly and without making any noises. But the tears soaking Naruto's hair were prove enough.

The boy didn't know how to feel. The sudden hug had caught him by surprise and his dad's tears didn't make it any better. That man didn't even kow that he will be having a son, so why was he acting that way?

Still, Naruto couldn't help but to relax into the touch. He was still confused and overwhelmed, but after another breathtaking squeeze from Minato, feelings rose in his chest and forced themselves to the front of his mind.

"Minato-san ..."

"_"

"_"

"_"

"You're hurting me."

Minato let go of him immediately and Naruto fell back on the pillow.

"I'm sorry", Minato squealed and rubbed a few reminded tears out of his eyes. "I just ... Damn, I waited two long days for you to wake up! Why didn't you hurry up a bit. I was worried sick."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry."

"Now, now, Minato. Don't be harsh on him. He has just escaped death and now you are angry at him."

"Sorry", Minato said and l looked at his feet.

"No need to be so ashamed", Tsunade smiled at him. "And now ... GET OUT SO THAT I CAN CHECK HIS CONDITION ALREADY OR WE WILL STILL BE SITTING HERE TOMORROW!"

"I'M SO SORRY!", Minato screamed and fled out of the door as fast as he could.

Tsunade-baa-chan could really be terrifying. Not even the Yondaime seemed to have a chance against her.

The woman sighed pleased and over to Naruto's bed. The four chunin pressed themselves agains the wall, afraid of being another potential victom of one of Tsunade's outbursts. She didn't pay attention to them and started her inspection.

"Can you feel your chakra, boy?", she asked while she checked his pulse.

"Yeah, very clearly. But ...", Naruto stopped talking and searched for the right words. "It feels a little different from normal. For me it always felt like having a flare of wind inside my body and that didn't change. It just feels more ... real right now."

Tsunade lifted an eyebrow.

"You know, it's like having a heavy storm in your body. Or a stream of viscous water."

Naruto struggled to describe that feeling but he really didn't find better words for it. He looked an Tsunade, seeking help.

"I don't know, gaki. The only explanation I have is that in your state, you are somehow not able to feel in correctly yet. Or it could be connected to your condition itself."

She lifted herself from the mattress and checked her watch.

"I will let you rest for now. I'll be coming back in a three hours to check on you again and then we will decide what will happen next, alright?"

Naruto gave her one of his foxy-grins but shifted when a sharp pain run up his spine again.

"Do you need painkillers?", she asked and looked at him with wise eyes.

"Would be nice."

Tsunade turned around and faced the four chunin at the other side of the room.

"Has anybody of you some painkillers?"

Team Minato shook their heads but Shizune smiled.

"I could give you that one." She pulled out a long sharp needle that Naruto would never freely have approached.

"Now thank you", he said and drops of sweat were forming on his forehead. "That's really nice but I think I have packed some painkillers in my back. Would you get them Obito?"

"No big deal!", the Uchiha smiled and jumped from the wall to search trough Naruto's bag.

Shizune looked a bit disappointed when she shoved her needle back in her clothes but Naruto couldn't really feel any pity. He was well aware of Shizune's talent with poison and he was not really after letting himself being poisoned just because of pity.

"Got it!", Obito screamed and jumped over to the bed, putting the pills in Naruto's palm.

"Thank you", the blond said and separated one pill from it's packing.

"We will be leaving now, if you need something, we are right nextdoor", Tsunade smiled

She shooed the chunin out of the room and closed the door behind her.

* * *

><p>"Can we really leave him alone there, all by himself?", Minato asked and stood up from the chair he was sitting on. He braced his arms on the windowsill.<p>

"Oh come on, You worry too much", Tsunade informed him and took another sip from the glass of sake. "He's right next door and the walls are so thin that we will hear turn around in his bed. Do just shut up and let him rest."

"Sorry, the operation was nearly a failure. I'm just a bit nervous, that's all."

"That was awesome, Tsunade-sama", Rin said and looked at her idol with shining eyes.

"For you to be able to save him from such a near death state, just to awesome!"

"You could still have hurried up a bit", Obito suggested her with a smile on his face. "You had us worried sick."

"Hn."

Tsunade looked at her feet and her voice was low.

"I didn't save him."

"What?"

"I said I didn't save him."

"What are you talking about, Tsunade?", Minato spon around and glared at her. "He will be

alright, won't he?"

Tsunade sighted. "Don't worry, Minato. He will. I'm just saying that I wasn't the one who saved him. That boy, he has very unique chakra. After I had brought his chakra-flow back to normal, I was completely out of strength. I wouldn't have been able to save him. I ... I felt like that time." She shivered and grabbed her necklace.

"But then the boy's unique chakra activated and ... he healed himself."

"Selfhealing?", Kakashi asked doubtfully. "I have never heard of that."

"Nor have I. Just special jutsus would have been able to heal him. And in the state he was in, he certainly was not able to do a jutsu."

"Maybe he really is a threat to us."

"Oh Kakashi-bastard, shut up! You just don't like him, that's all. Quite behaving like a son of

a bitch."

"What did you say?"

Minato didn't react as he watched the two boys fight. He was thinking. About Naruto. And his secrets.

Somehow, that boy fascinated him.

"Tsunade-sama", Rin shyly asked the older woman. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well, I was wondering ... what do you mean by 'that time'?"

Tsunade clenched her teeth and gripped her necklace tighter.

"A couple of years ago ... my little brother and my fiance, Shizune's uncle ... died in war. And I couldn't save them."

Rin clapped her hands over her mouth. "I'm sorry ... I didn't mean to ..."

Tsunade shook her head. "It's ok, girl. Sooner or later I had to talk about it anyway and it seems like it's sooner. Thet was the whole reason why I left the village in the first place. Too many memories of them."

Tsunade held her necklace up and showed it to the chunin.

"That's all that it left from them for me. Just that necklace."

Kakashi looked at the ground. "Well, that story really isn't nice."

Obito looked and the necklace, his brows were knitted in thoughts. Then his face it up.

"I know that necklace. Naruto has the same one."

Tsunade frowned. "That's impossible boy."

"No it's true. He had that necklace in his back. Well, it looked a bit battered. It had been broken but Naruto fixed it again, you can still see the cracks."

Tsunade looked at the Uchiha. If that was true ...

_Just what was going on here?_

* * *

><p><em><strong>"Naruto!"<strong>_

_"Mhmm ... "_

_**"Hey, kit!"**_

Damn it all. He was sleeping, for god's sake. Couldn't he be left alone for one time?

_**"Kit!"**_

_"What?"_ Naruto replayed sharply. _"Just what the hell is it now?"_

_**"Can you hear that?"**_

_"I want to hear nothing!"_

_**"Kit, just listen. The walls are very thin in this hotel. No wonder, it's a cheap doss house. The Yondaime and the old hag are right in the room next to us."**_

_"So?"_

_**"Kit don't play dumb. Just listen to their conversation."**_

_"Will you let me sleep after that?"_

_**"Promise."**_

_"Damn it all to hell"_, Naruto grunted. He slipped to the edge of his bed and placed his head

near the wall. He closed his eyes and harkened.

Now that Kurama mentioned it he was surprised just how he could have slept with this much noise. The voices where nearly as clear as when they where coming from right next to him.

No chance for him to sleep. All he could do was listen and pray for the two people next door to shut up and let him go to sleep.

He sighted and concentrated on the conversation.

The Yondaime's sentence was the first thing he hurt.

" ... needs a lot of sleep and rest so I told Obito, Kakashi, Shizune and Rin that there was

a great and cheap stand selling sweets in the city. They won't come back so soon, maybe they'll even find a cheap stall. Who knows?"

A lot of rest and sleep ... rip out a page of Minato's book, damn fox.

"You are a greater danger for him then all of the kids together, Minato. You nearly crushed him earlier. I swear I heard his spine crack." That was Tsunade's voice.

So the fox had been right. Only Naruto's dad and Tsunade were in the room right now.

"Oh come on. I hardly know him. he was wandering around in the forest when my team and I found him. He was badly beaten up and said that he was searching help in Konoha."

"Do you believe him?"

Che, that woman could really be wary.

"No."

"What?"

_**"Shhh, hush Naruto! They can hear you just as well as we can hear them!"**_

Naruto slapped his hand over his mouth and strained his ears. That was getting interesting.

"I don't think that he came to Konoha to get help for his chakra. I think that he came to search for protection."

"Protection?"

"Someone seems to be after his life. These wounds, a messed up chakra-flow, a seal on his stomach he doesn't want to talk about. There's more then meets the eye."

Silence. Then Tsunade spoke again, tis time even lower. Naruto had to press his ear against the wall.

"Minato, just what exactly do you feel for that boy?"

Naruto shifted and his heart started beating so fast that he was sure that it could be heard n the other room.

"I ... I don't know. I only know him for a few days. But ... it feels like, well, family." A nervous laughter.

"I know that's insane but ..."

"You could be right."

"What?"

Tsunade snapped. Naruto had to rip his head away from the wall. It was like she was screaming right into his ear.

_**"Well she sure is emotional."**_

"Don't play dumb, Minato! You must have noticed it, too. That boy ... He looks so much like you he could be your twin brother!"

"Don't be stupid. He is way too young to be my twin."

"You know what I mean! This kind of resemblance is only natural within a family circle. Did you ever think about that? That kid could very well be related to you by blood."

Please, Tsunade-baa-chan, please, shut up. He doesn't need to know.

_**"Don't worry, kit. A normal person would know it if he had a child, so that's the last explanation they will come up with."**_

Maybe he was right.

_**"Of course I am!"**_

"I'm saying it again, Tsunade, don't be stupid. I do not have a family, I do not have a clan. It disappeared years ago. I am the last."

"You don't know it for certain, MInato. You just don't want to get your hopes up and then be disappointed, that's all."

A moment of silence. Only the sound of a glass being filled was been heard. Probably sake.

"Did that brat ever talk about his family?"

"He says that he in an orphan who was raised and taught by a traveling ninja. That man did leave him and Naruto is searching him right now. It won't be very easy, though. He has never seen that guy's face, all he knows is that he wears a mask."

Snorts and gasps were heard. Tsunade had obviously spit out her sake just now.

"Tsunade? You ok?"

"A mask?"

" ... Yeah."

Silence. What was going on next door?

"Minato I have to tell you something. I guess you have noticed my reaction when I first saw Naruto."

"Yes, it was kinda ... over the top. Was that because he looks like me?"

"That was one reason, yeah. But there is another one."

Naruto heard Tsunade taking a deep breath before she continued speaking. every word that left her mouth was being burned into the blond's brain.

"About four days ago a man came to me and offered me a deal. He said that he would give me information about the murderers of my little brother."

"Nawaki?"

"Yeah."

Naruto shivered. He knew about Nawaki. It was a story Tsunade told him a long time ago. How she lost her younger brother in war.

"What was that man's demand?"

"He wanted ... that I would bring him a certain person. He described the boy to me and ... Minato ... I am absolutely sure that he is searching for Naruto."

Silence. Naruto's breath was heavy as he harkened for every other word, every single detail.

"That man is ... after Naruto? Why? Don't tell me ... He didn't come to harm the boy, did he?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Tsunade, who is he? Who is searching for Naruto?"

"A man about your age. With a black and white mask on his face."

That was all. All Naruto needed to hear. That man searching for him. God damn it, why now? Why so soon? Just his luck.

"Now we have a problem."

"Madara."

Yeah, Lady Luck really was one funny bitch.

* * *

><p><em>Pweh, done.<em>

_And again it's 3 o'cock in the morning. Time flies._

_The next chapter will contain a bit of action so look forward to it. I'm finally getting on with the story. From here on every chapter will discover or solve a new mystery._

_Hope you liked it so far._

_Please review :)_


	7. Adventure is the result of poor planning

_Hello, guys! I'm back with a new chapter._

_But before we start, a few things first._

_**A little announcement:** I was asked a couple of times if this story contains gay relationships._

_So I wanted to tell you: No, this story is **NOT YAOI**!_

_To all haters of yaoi, don't worry, you can keep on reading this story. To all yaoi-fans, I am sorry, I have nothing against yaoi but I' can't write one without making a complete fool out of myself. Kinda hard to admit, but I'm still only 15, no experience in writing porn whatsoever :)_

_Does Naruto really seem that gay in this story? I just wanted him to be a bit overwhelmed with emotions because of his returned dead family. Maybe I overdid it a bit and made him too sentimental. Well, let's see how his character will develop over time._

_Now, enjoy the story!_

* * *

><p><strong><strong>~ life is like drawing - just without a rubber ~<strong>**

****~ chapter seven: ********Adventure is the result of poor planning****

_"About four days ago a man came to me and offered me a deal. He said that he would give me information about the murderers of my little brother."_

_"Nawaki?"_

_"Yeah."_

_Naruto shivered. He knew about Nawaki. It was a story Tsunade told him a long time ago. How she lost her younger brother in war._

_"What was that man's demand?"_

_"He wanted me ... to bring him a certain person. He described the boy to me and ... Minato ... I am absolutely sure that he is searching for Naruto."_

_Silence. Naruto's breath was heavy as he harkened for every other word, every single detail._

_"That man is ... after Naruto? Why? Don't tell me ... He didn't come to harm the boy, did he?"_

_"No, I don't think so."_

_"Tsunade, who is he? Who is searching for Naruto?"_

_"A man about your age. With a black and white mask on his face."_

_That was all. All Naruto needed to hear. That man searching for him. God damn it, why now? Why so soon? Just his luck._

_**"Now we have a problem."**_

_"Madara."_

_**"Still interested in sleep?"**_

_Yeah, Lady Luck really was one funny bitch._

* * *

><p>"You seem worried. You shouldn't be. You should be excited. I mean, you are about to meet your foster father after a long time, ain't ya?"<p>

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts. Obito was walking in front of him. The Uchiha had turned around and inspect the blond's face.

"He's right", Minato stated, who walked next to Naruto. "You should be jumping in the air instead of crawling around like a snail."

"Don't be so harsh on him, sensei", Rin advised. "Naruto-san nearly lost his life yesterday. You don't expect him to be healthy like a cow only one day after that incident, do you?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I'm ok, really. Otherwise I wouldn't have come along, right?"

"Hmpf", Kakashi snarled and came out from behind his book to send angry glances at Naruto. "He's just worried that his little made up story has turned into a dangerous situation for him."

"Thanks for your opinion, Kakashi-kun", the blonde replied and gave him a wintry smile.

"My pleasure", Kakashi said and hid his face behind his book again.

"You're just jealous, Kakashi-kun!", Shizune informed him and punched him in his ribs.

The boy raised his eyebrow. "Why the hell should I be?"

The girl smiled cheekily. "Because he's hot and you are not."

Naruto choked on the air. Nobody had ever called him hot. Well, maybe Hinata, behind his back. But she was way too shy to tell him personally. When he had still been in the academy, the girls had always been chasing Sasuke and hadn't even bothered looking at him.

This little Shizune was really something else. Thank god that she had changed over the years. The village didn't need another pervert like Jiraiya.

Kakashi turned red. "Just because he's older than me!"

"No, because he has a better body than you!"

"Who the hell cares about his body?"

"Girls do!"

"Well, my face's better than his!"

"How would I know? You're always hiding it behind your mask! Why do you wear it

anyway?"

"Cause it looks good on me!"

"So you need to hide your face in order for it to look good? Naruto's face's better!"

"Just what's so good about it?"

"His smile! It's just drop dead beautiful!"

"Guys, I'm standing right next to you." But they didn't care. Talking about him like he wasn't there. Naruto Uzumaki - Mister invisible!

"He smiles like an idiot!"

"Jealous depressive! If you'd just smile more often then maybe you could get some fan-girls who actually mean it!"

"Kakashi-kun's hot, too"; Rin stated and flushed.

"Hey, what about me?", Obito squealed and wrung his hands.

"Naruto's way better in both, body and personality!"

Naruto sighted with pretended annoyance. "Fantastic, I have a three years younger girl drooling over me."

"Be glad that you have some girl drooling over you!", Kakashi snarled at him.

"Oh! So you really are jealous!"

"I. Am. Not. Jealous!", Kakashi screamed and was now bright red. "Why would I be jealous over a guy who gets a crush from this old chick?"

"Really?", Naruto mocked him. He raised his eyebrows.

This younger Kakashi actually let himself getting mocked. In his era, his sensei would just have ignored this kind of comments. He would never have cared to join in such a conversation, let alone getting emotional over it. Well, he still had a lot to learn. He was still inexperienced. And Naruto would make the most of it.

"Could it be that you are not jealous because of my perfect looks, but out of another reason? Maybe ... you like older women?"

"SHUT UP!", Kakashi screamed, his face now a shade of red equal to the one of a tomato, and swung his fist at Naruto. The blond dodged the punch without difficulties. Who was that little chunin against Konoha's future seventh Hokage?

"Ok, now stop this ruckus, brats", Tsunade growled and crossed her arms behind her head. She closed her eyes resignedly. "You are starting to annoy me. I've never traveled with such a bunch of noisy people before."

She opened her eyes again and glared at the group of people. Naruto sighted mentally. He knew what was about to come out of her mouth. In his time, he had listened to a lot of Tsunade's curtain-lectures, mostly involuntary. He just hoped that she would focus on the four chunin instead of bothering him.

"You, kid with the hidden face", she started and pointed at Kakashi. Even the fearless soon-to-be jounin frowned under her glare. "If you really want to win Shizune's heart, I can assure you that this is the wrong way! So quit bitching and put that book away!"

Kakashi obeyed without a second thought and the book vanished under his clothes.

Tsunade nodded and now glared Obito. The Uchiha's face became green.

"Brat, stop walking backwards and turn around! And keep your mouth shut! I don't want to have to listen to your mindless comments!"

"But I didn't do anything! It was Kakashi-bastard's fault, not ..."

"Did you say something? I couldn't understand it well. Would you mind repeating it?"

"Nothing. I said nothing."

"Thought so."

Obito turned around and instantly took shelter behind Naruto. The blond lowered him.

"Acting like a scared dog will never impress Rin-chan, you know", he advised the cowering boy.

"Shut up", the Uchiha mumbled and ducked down even more behind Naruto in order to escape Tsunade's death glare.

Lucky for him, Tsunade didn't bother anymore and moved on to her apprentice.

"Shizune, keep your thoughts for yourself! No one cares about your sexual interests, so stop bothering the gaki! Oh yeah, and no chit-chats with Jiraiya without my permission anymore! He has too much influence on you!"

Shizune just shrugged.

"Rin!", the blond woman barked and the poor girl flinched. Tsunade regarded her awhile without speaking a word.

"Please, say something", Rin pleaded.

The woman sighted. "You are way too concerned about other people. Be more careful."

"Sure, my lady."

"And you, Minato!", Tsunade faced the blond jounin and glared at him.

Minato lifted his hands in a defending manner. "I didn't do anything."

"Exactly! You should have! Your team's completely out of control! Next Hokage, my ass!"

"Whatever you say, my queen", he growled. Minato knew out of experience that there was no point in arguing with her, so he simply added with a whisper.

"Can someone please make me remember just why I brought her along? I always thought that I am a free being with a free will, so what forced me to do so?"

Naruto chuckled. Rin and Obito wanted to join him but a glare from Tsunade silenced them.

Shizune just rolled her eyes. She had spend half her life with Tsunade and just like Minato, she knew how to deal with this kind of situation.

The woman sighted again. "Whatever! For your own good, I won't say another word."

"I think you've already said plenty, baa-chan", Naruto informed her.

"I told you, don't call me baa-chan! I'm not old!"

Naruto laughed but soon his laughter turned into coughs and sneezes.

Tsunade's glare turned into a worried expression. "Are you sure you are ok? It's quite a miracle that you are able to move around like that."

He smiled at the woman. "No need to worry, baa-chan! I'm a fast healer so I'm totally fine. Believe it! Just a cold, that's all."

After he had overheard the conversation between Tsunade and Minato, he hadn't been sleeping so well. Nightmares had haunted him the whole night, dreams about blood, lightning and spinning red eyes.

In the end he had managed to get at least a few hours of smooth sleep, enough for the demon-fox inside of him to disperse the traces of the previous day from his body.

The pain in his body had disappeared. It was now being replaced by a cold.

Naruto was mad at himself. He couldn't allow Madara to have this kind of authority over him. It was just wrong! More than that, it was apparently unhealthy!

Naruto sneezed again.

_"I would rather have dealt with some sore limbs than a cold."_

_**"I always thought that idiots don't catch colds"**_, Kurama chimed in his thoughts.

_"Which proves that I'm not an idiot."_

_**"And thus my world shutters. I will have to think my whole philosophy over."**_

_"I'm less interested in ... sneeze ... your philosophy ... sneeze ... than in your scheme. Any fabulous ideas ... sneeze ... how to get out of this mess?"_

_**"No ideas. You?"**_

_"Dunno."_

_**"You are relying on me too much. Normally you would just rush into this fight without thinking."**_

_"That's exactly what we are doing right now!"_

* * *

><p><em>(A little flashback)<br>_

Naruto opened the door to the next room. "Tsunade-baa-chan? Minato-san? Are you here?"

"Don't call me baa-chan, gaki!", a voice that came out of a large fluffy chair warned him.

"No problem, baa-chan!", Naruto laughed. "I'll stop the day you'll stop drinking."

"Hmpf", Tsunade replied and drunk her glass of sake in one go.

"Drunk so early in the morning. Get a grip, _baa-chan._" Minato stood up from his seat on the window sill.

"Why the hell are you out of bed already, Naruto?", he asked the blond boy in the door. "You should still be lying in your bed and recovering."

"I'm fine, believe it!"

"Che, brat", Tsunade growled and made her way over to him. She was already wobbeling. Good thing that she had Shizune. Otherwise she would have already drunk herself into coma with her sake.

"I am the doctor and I decide whether you are fine or not."

Tsunade stepped in front of him and started to check his body. She let her hands move over his arms, searching for injuries. No wounds. To the great displeasure to her.

So she lifted Naruto's shirt and inspected his abdomen. No wounds to be found here either.

She dropped to her knees and grabbed his pants.

"Hey, hey, hey!", Naruto panicked and turned bright red. "Stop it, you pervert woman!"

"Pervert? What are you talking about? I'm merely checking you up for injuries. Don't flatter yourself", came Tsunade's voice from somewhere between his legs.

"I told you I'm perfectly fine! Do you have no shame?" He grabbed her hands and tried to remove her stranglehold from his belt.

"Huh?", Tsunade asked and looked up to Naruto's face, a cheeky smile on her face. "I'm a doctor, I've seen that countless times before. It doesn't bother me anymore."

"But it does bother _me_!", he squealed and junked her hands away.

"Why? Are you missing something that a young man should have?"

"I don't believe it! I'm being molested by an old woman! Minato! Help!"

"Who are you calling old?"

"Ok, that's as far as you go, Tsunade." Minato grabbed her shoulders and guided her back to her chair. He seemed to pity the blond boy, but on the other hand he could hardly hold in a laughter.

Tsunade flopped down in her chair and took another slip from the bottle of sake.

Naruto was still flushed when he junked the bottle out of Tsunade's fingers.

"A woman who can't handle alcohol shouldn't consume it like this! You are an embarrassment for society!"

He arranged his clothes back in place where they were before Tsunade's attack.

"And you Minato", he complained angrily, "are a traitor!"

And then Naruto lifted the bottle to his mouth and poured down the whole content himself.

Minato's eyes turned wide as he watched the liquid disappear between the boy's lips. And Naruto had been calling _Tsunade _an alcoholic!

The woman was angry. She tried to lift her body out of the chair again but sunk back as her legs didn't want to carry her. So she had no choice but to watch her precious sake running down the boy's throat.

Naruto gulped down the last slip of sake. He put the bottle down and sighted.

"Well, that's better."

"Hey! That was my sake! Why are you even lecturing me when you're drinking even more than me?"

Naruto pointed with the now empty bottle at Tsunade. "There's a difference between you drinking alcohol and me drinking alcohol. Unlike you I am able to stomach it!"

Maybe it was because of her drunken state but that was all needed to convince Tsunade.

"Heh, you really seem healthy to me! Screaming around like that. Seems like you've recovered from the op."

Naruto proudly put his hands in his sides. "Of course I have! I am a fast healer! Believe it!"

At first she giggled, but then Tsunade grew silent. When she spoke again, her voice was steady. Not a bit drunk.

"That's quite unusual, you know? Normally it takes a few days or even weeks to recover from such a thing."

"I have been a fast healer ever since I was born."

"Are you really sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, of course!"

"No pain or discomfort? Do you need pain killers?"

Minato looked at Tsunade with wide eyes. "Pain killers? After consuming a whole bottle of your nerve poison?"

"Ok, ok! I'll stop, alright?"

"Tsunade-baa-chan?", Naruto asked.

"Don't call me ... Oh, whatever! What is it?"

"I wanted to talk with you, about that deal that was offered to you."

Tsunade's eyes darkened as she surveyed the boy in front of her. "So you spied on us."

"I wouldn't call it spy. The walls are thin and I couldn't sleep very good last night. You guys got quite loud, too, so I would say I kinda overheard it."

"So, are you happy?", Tsunade asked. "Your father is searching for you. Seems like he's really keen on getting you back.

The blond boy let his gaze resting to the floor. What should he answer to that?

"Naruto", Minato drew his attention to him. Naruto looked up into blue eyes.

Then the older man dropped to his knees and grabbed his shoulders.

"I know that you don't talk about your life, but I need to ask you this: Could it be that there's someone out there who's trying to kill you?"

"What makes you think so?", Naruto asked and tried to let his expression seem surprised.

Minato's eyes narrowed. "Don't play dumb. If you really overheard our conversation then you know very well what I'm talking about."

Naruto looked away, avoiding the intense gaze of these eyes. He really hated this. He thought that he would never have a family again and now that he had suddenly gained one again, he had to lie to his father.

"No", he finally answered and looked streigth into Minato's eyes. "There's no one out there, after my life." _Not mine, but after the second life inside of me._

Minato frowned. He was surprised by the boy's sudden response. He had sounded so convinced. Could it be that that boy just didn't want to admit it? Not even to himself?

"Then why are you hesitating? You said that finding him was your dream."

Yeah, why was he hesitating? It was not like he was afraid. And if he really would be the boy who was searching for his foster parent like Minato believed him to be, what would be him reason?

"Ehm, I ... I haven't ... seen him such a long time ... I don't know if I should really ...? What would you do?"

"I don't have a family. You can not miss what you never had."

Naruto couldn't construe Minato's expression. The man's blond bangs hid his eyes from the boy's gaze. So he gave up on interpreting Minato's face and turned to Tsunade.

"Baa-chan, you said that that man would give you information about your brother in exchange for me."

Tsunade nodded. "My brother was killed in war when he was still a child. But I have no idea who did it." Her fists clenched and her voice turned into a sinister growl. "I couldn't get revenge! I couldn't bury his murderer!"

Naruto flinched. He had never seen Tsunade this frightening. It was true, war could really change people. A lot.

"So what do_ you_ want to do, baa-chan?"

She averted her eyes. "It's your decision, not mine."

That were her words but Naruto knew that she had already made her decision. This Tsunade was not the Tsunade he knew. This woman was without reason. She had lost her life, along with her beloved persons. And Naruto didn't know if enough time had already past for her to refuse this offer like she refused Orochimaru's. This Tsunade would do anything to get back to her happy life. And she would make him agree to this deal. If necessary by force.

Naruto knew that already, and with a look in Minato's eyes, he knew that his father knew it, too.

"Naruto, you don't need to be afraid. Tsunade, Obito, Shizune, Kakashi, Rin and I, we will come along."

"Thanks Minato." _Thanks dad._

* * *

><p>So here he was.<p>

Tsunade had contacted Madara and arranged the meeting.

The group was now walking through the small alleys of the destroyed village where they were going to meet the masked man.

Naruto was growing more and more nervous. Normally he would do because of the soon fight and the excitement it bought along. But this time Naruto was sure that something would be going wrong.

He had tried using his chakra yesterday night. After the conversation next door had turned into Tsunade's loud snoring and Naruto had given up on falling asleep, he had tested his chakra by creating shadow clones.

It had worked like it would normally do, but his chakra felt so heavy. He was so uncomfortably with using it.

And that made him worry, really bad.

_**"If your so worried about it, why didn't you refuse? My first instinct would have been to run away."**_

_"Dumb fox. Tsunade would have forced me anyway."_

_**"Do you really think the Yondaime would have let her? He knows her personality as good as you do and he has grown quite attached to you. He knew the risk. If you had refused he would have protected you."**_

_"But a climbdown would have been dangerous for our cover, wouldn't it? Dad isn't dumb. He would have been warily and we should try to avoid mistrust."_

_**"Kit, that's nonsence! What you are doing now is even more dangerous for our cover. Moreover it's close to suicide!"**_

_"Calm down. We have Tsunade and Minato with us, two amazingly strong shinobi. What do we have to fear?"_

_**"Madara defeated them both. Have you forgotten?"**_

Damn fox, of course he hadn't.

_"It will work out! We'll just have to depend on our luck!"_

_**"Luck! Yeah, right! So what is your real reason to agree to this deal."**_

_"_"_

_**"Kit!"**_

_"Well you know, Tsunade is my granny. I just want to help her."_

_**"Oh god! Dying for this old hag! Perfect!"**_

_"Ok, ok! And I couldn't think of a good reason to refuse. I was never good in thinking!"_

_**"T'riffic!"**_

* * *

><p>"Heeey! Earth to Naruto! Is anybody at home?"<p>

Obito was walking next to the blond and waving his hands in front of his face.

"Calm down. I noticed you long ago, so what is it?"

"Well, you seemed so distracted and you're getting more and more nervous."

"Oh yeah, I am nervous. No need to make a big deal out of it. You yourself are nervous. You can't stand still, can you?"

"I'm not nervous, I'm excited. Really excited! Have you ever heard of such a exciting mission?"

"Yeah, it was the one every genin gets"; Kakashi joined they're conversation. An evil smirk spread on his face. His mouth wasn't visible, of course, but Naruto could tell by the look in his eyes. "What was it called: Return the missing cat?"

"Shut up Kakashi-bastard! You're ruining my mood!", Obito accused him.

"Hmpf."

"That's right, just keep on reading and leave me alone! I hope you step into some dogshit!"

"You two are so rude! Can you stop fighting? Please, for my sake?" Rin had crossed her hands in front of her chest and pleaded her teammates to stop embarrassing themselves in public.

"Of course, Rin-chan!", Obito cheered and turned bright red. He saluted with a bright smile on his face.

But Rin walked past him without even glancing at him. Obito put his hand down and his smile wasn't bright anymore. It looked sad now. Naruto was reminded of the cold way Sakura had treated him and he couldn't help but to feel sorry for the boy.

He reached out and ruffled the black hair. Obito looked up to the older boy who gave him a bright smile. That cheered him up.

Rin stepped next to Kakashi and smiled her sweetest smile.

"Don't you think so, too, Kakashi-kun?"

"Hmpf." This time it was Rin who didn't get a glance. She was not as good in hiding her emotions as Obito. Tears collected in her eyes.

"Don't cry, Rin"; Shizune said and grabbed the crying girls hand. "That's probably just his way of declaring his love to you."

Then she turned to Kakashi and snapped: "See? You made her cry. You are no gentleman at all."

Kakashi glared at the older girl and turned into a angry shade of red.

Obito wanted to say something, but Naruto knew that all that would be coming out of the boy would be a comment like 'I am a gentleman', so he slapped his hand over the boy's mouth.

Obito looked up to him quizzically and Naruto shook his head. No need for Obito to make a fool out of himself by throwing himself at Rin and getting rejected again.

The Uchiha seemed to understand and kept his mouth shut. He just watched with a sad expression how Rin clung herself to Kakashi's arm.

"Let go of my arm. I can't read like that", Kakashi said and tried to get Rin of, but her grip was equal to the one of a constrictor.

"Rin-chan! I have an arm for you to cling on! Even the rest of your life if you want to!"

Ok, he didn't understand, that idiot. Naruto closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He couldn't imagine that someday he would have to take care of a noisy bunch like this himself. He always thought that he was good with kids, mostly because he had always stayed one in his heart, but this was on a complete different level.

When he opened his eyes again, he noticed Kakashi staring at him. Naruto was stunned by the chunin's jealous glare. But then he realized just what was making him that jealous.

Shizune was walking next to him, also starring. But her stare was different.

"Don't even think about it!", Naruto warned the girl and stepped away from her, bringing a safe distance between them.

She looked like she was about to jump him and Kakashi's angry glare burned holes in Naruto's body. The blond had no intention on staying in hospital again, whether it was because of having been sliced by a mad Hatake's blade nor because of a girl who had crushed him.

"Why don't you go cling to Kakashi instead? I bet he would enjoy it."

Shizune giggled and run her tongue over her lips. To Naruto her stare was getting really uncomfortable. Shouldn't she still be playing with dolls instead of lusting over a three years older guy?

"Why would I? Your arms a lot nicer! And you would enjoy it, too", Shizune purred and grabbed his arm.

Naruto felt panic raise in his chest and twisted his arm out of her grabs.

"Isn't there someone in your age group you can bother instead of me?", Naruto asked and stepped even further away.

"I will get you somehow, sooner or later! You just wait! On day you will dream about it!"

Shizune smiled at him in a sexy way.

Ok, Naruto, she is a girl and she _may_ be a bit sexy. BUT THE STUDENT OF YOUR GRANNY? A NO-GO!

She grabbed his arm again and this time she glued her body to him, making sure to press her breasts against his body. No chance of escaping.

Kakashi's jealous gaze had turned into a death glare and even Obito was eying Naruto now. Yeah, he was even being glared at by Rin who now didn't get any attention from her prince anymore.

How was that his fault? Shouldn't she be glaring at Shizune?

The blond wished for the famous way of disappearing: just sinking into the ground.

"I have a lot of nightmares." Hopefully that would convince the pervert girl to let go of him. If Kakashi had said that to Rin, she would have burst out in tears.

The moment Shizunes eyes turned into lusty black orbs, he knew that Shizune didn't care. Apparently, that he had made the worst mistake he could have made.

"You're so cool when you play the cold bastard!", Shizune moaned and wrapped her arms around his whole torso, crushing his body somewhere near his stomach.

Now he knew how Sasuke had felt his whole life. Serves that bastard right.

Naruto was sure that he saw Kakashi gripping the short blade on his back. The chunin had given up on killing him with glares and had decided to take action.

Minato watched the girl clinging to the blond boy. Kakashi's reaction was just hilarious. Still he felt sorry for Obito. The Uchiha was the undisputed looser of this situation.

"Did you teach your student to be so pervert? And you are lecturing me for not having enough control over my team", Minato laughed.

Tsunade grunted. "She was always loved the mystery and and Naruto is a walking mystery. Furthermore, She spent too much time with Jiraiya. Before I noticed it, it was already too late."

To her, this situation was just ridiculous. When Shizune had been younger Tsunade's old teammate Jiraiya had been visiting them a lot. He had turned the girl's head with his goddamn novels. When Tsunade had caught her reading one of Jiraiya's porn she had thrown him out. Him and every last of his books. That was the last time he had come around.

"Unbelievable that she can be such a forward girl. I always thought that she is one of the most sane persons existing because she is taking care of a walking disaster like you, Tsunade", Minato stated. He shrugged. "Well, even the most perfect person has a weakness."

Tsunade sighted. "Maybe we should stop her before someone gets hurt. Kakashi is already drawing his sword."

The blond woman raised her voice so that she could speak to the group walking a few meters in front of her.

"Hey brats!"

The four chunin and Naruto turned around. They slowed down their speed for Tsunade and Minato to catch up with them.

"Yeah, you, Kakashi! You better put that sword away!"

Kakashi growled and it was clearly written all over his face that for him to obey was hard work. But a glare from Tsunade was apparently convincing enough. Naruto relaxed when he saw the hand that had rested on the sword vanishing into the boy's pocket.

"And you better not try that again. I need the gaki for my deal so don't you dare to hurt him!"

"Aha!", Naruto yelled and pointed his finger accusingly at Tsunade. "So that is your motive! Damn old hag!"

He wanted to scream at the woman a bit longer to make her feel guilty, but he was disrupted by other things that demanded his attention.

Shizune made an squeaking sound ,which made Naruto's hair stood on end, and amplified even more pressure on the blond boy's torso, forcing the last bit of air out of his lungs.

"You're so cool when you're angry!", she moaned and pressed her head against his arm.

Naruto gasped and tried to free himself from Shizune's stranglehold. But her grip got even tighter. That would leave bruises.

"Stop treating me like an object", Naruto panted with the last bit of breath he could still feel in his body.

Tsunade watched the boy's struggling and shook her head. Shizune overdid it. She had to put her foot down or the girl would ruin Tsunade's reputation.

"Shizune, let go of him!", she ordered the girl. "I need him alive, not in a half crushed state!"

"Che", Shizune snarled scornfully. She let go of the boy, but the expression in her face clearly said that she was dissatisfied with the situation and that she would love to continue to grind her breasts into the boy's arm.

Naruto hissed and rubbed the marks from Shizune's fingers on his hips.

"If you hadn't told me what you told me right now, baa-chan, I would have thanked you", Naruto pouted and blew cold air on the sore spots on his arm.

Minato giggled.

"Oh come on Naruto. Shizune's also a girl. It wasn't so bad, was it?"

"How would you feel if Tsunade-baa-chan would be clinging to your arm?"

"Urk."

"My point!"

Kakashi watched the two blonds in silence. He couldn't understand what they were complaining about. Tsunade was a fine woman, at least her body made her one. And Shizune ... well.

He regarded Naruto who had pulled out a bottle of water. The older boy obviously didn't enjoy having Shizune clinging to his body, acting all possessive. For him that only could be explained with one thing. But he had to be sure.

So he asked Naruto directly and with sobriety: "Are you gay?"

Naruto choked and spit out the sip of water he had been taking from the bottle.

"What?", he asked aghast.

"Are. you. gay?", Kaksahi repeated, accenting every word very clearly for the blond to understand.

"I understood you clearly!"

"So, are ..."

He was interrupted by Naruto's angry reply. "No, I'm not! I'm straight! As straight as a real man should be! Believe it! That I'm not into Shizune has nothing to do with being gay! She's just three freaking years younger than me!"

"Do you have a crush on someone else?"

Naruto opened his mouth to answer but frowned. Yeah, did he? Of course, Sakura-chan! That was what he would have answered a few years ago. But now? She was more like a sister to him than a lover.

He noticed that his mouth was still hanging open and he hastily closed it again.

"Have you?"

"I guess not."

"So you are gay."

"I'M NOT!"

Obito laughed and clapped his hands together. He obviously seemed to enjoy the show.

"This mission is getting so exciting! What will happen next? Sooooo amazing!"

Naruto watched the boy. It seemed hard for the Uchiha to remain calm, so he started to jump up and down in the air.

But then Naruto lowered his eyes into slits and stared down the narrow street.

"A bit less exciting would be better. And a lot more healthy", he mumbled.

Tsunade stopped walking and her eyes rested on the housewalls lining the alley.

"Minato, do you think it was it safe to bring the kids with us?", she asked the blond man. Her voice showed that she was worried.

But Minato didn't let himself get worked up. He continued on walking down the alley and didn't seem to care.

"It's ok", he replied with a light smile on his mouth.

"But ..."

"Sensei!", Kakashi's exclamation interrupted Tsunade's words. He too was starring down the alley and had stopped walking.

"Yeah, Kakashi, it's ok. I've sensed it, too", the Yondaime calmed him down and paused next to his student. He put his hand into his vest and pulled out one of his kunai with three blades.

"What are you guys talking about?", Obito asked interested and looked up to Naruto's face, waiting for an answer. But it didn't come. "Naruto?"

The blond boy was angry. He glared at Minato and hissed: "It's ok? Minato, are you crazy? That are at least twenty people!"

"Number doesn't matter."

"These guys are not inexperienced fools!"

"Don't panic."

Naruto sighted. Minato was right. They had walked into the trap and now they had to deal with it.

"Alright, you take the lead. What are we going to do now?"

"Fight."

Naruto looked down at the Uchiha who was still standing next to him and let his gaze wander between his sensei and the older boy.

"Obito, could you give me one of your kunais?", Naruto asked him and reached his hand out. Obito put a kunai in his hand, but when Naruto wanted to pull his hand away, the Uchiha grabbed it held it in place.

"What are you guys talking about?", Obito asked again, this time louder. He hated being ignored.

"Haven't you noticed it yet, dimwit?", Kakashi snarled angrily and drew his blade out of it's sheath. "We are surrounded!"

Obito was about to give an not so nice answer but a hoarse laughter silenced him and made him looking around in panic, searching for the origin of the voice.

"Good job, Yondaime. You really deserve the title. But it's too late, you won't be able to get out of this anymore."

Minato smiled. "The walls of the houses are wet and the last rain was about two days ago. Funny, right? Looked at that way, is was no feat finding you."

The walls started to swirl in front of the group's eyes and figures were forming.

"There are people", Rin squeaked and slapped her hands over her mouth. "There are people growing out of the walls!"

A large group of people was now flooding the small alley. Twenty to twenty five unfamiliar shinobi stepped out of the walls and took fighting positions. Their fore-head-protectors glittered in the sunlight.

Naruto knew that mark. He had seen it on Zabuza's forehead, too. It was a symbol of four waves. The symbol of Kirigakure.

Tsunade ground her teeth. "A water-jutsu. So it was a trap after all."

A man stepped out of the crowd. He was tall and slender and like all the other shinobi he wore the fore-head-protector with the mark of Kirigakure. He drew a sword out from a sheath on his back that let Kakashi's own look like a toothpick.

"You suspected it to be?", he asked and let the blade wander through his hands playfully.

"I figured. It seems like since Naruto has shown up, weird things are happening", Minato snickered. "So we will have to be on guard."

The blond jounin looked up into the stranger's eyes and gave him a breathtaking smile. "So what do you want to do? Standing around and talking the whole day?"

"Charge!" The shinobi of Kirigakure attacked.

* * *

><p>Minato threw one of his kunais and pierced one guy in the head.<p>

"Kakashi! Obito! Rin!", he screamed and blocked the leader's blade. "You'll guard Naruto!"

"I!", Naruto growled. Two shinobi attacked him, drawing their own swords. "Don't need your protection!", he screamed.

He grabbed a kunai and rammed it into the first guy's arm. The shinobi let out a pained howl and dropped his sword. Naruto reached out, caught hold of it and used its hilt to punch the second guy in the stomach, making him falling to the ground.

The next minutes was a commotion of punches and colliding blades.

Minato was running around in an amazing speed, bringing every shinobi down who dared to stand up to him.

Tsunade had her hands coated in green chakra and sent punches in her ememies direction. Blades shattered and bones broke under her fists.

Naruto was simply using the weapons the attacking shinobi had dropped and his bare hands. His chakra felt so heavy like a bag of stones, running through his veins and slowing his movements down. But he kept on fighting.

It had been Minato's order for his team to protect Naruto, but the three chunin had enough to do trying to keep themselves unharmed.

Obito and Rin fought as a team. Rin was swinging her hands around pressing her palms on the enemies muscles and paralyzed them.

Obito was blowing fire out of his mouth and coated the shinobi in flames. But that technique did not have the wanted effect. Shinobi of Kirigakure were specialized on water-jutsus and only a few of them were harmed by the fire.

Both teens, Obito and Rin, were already breathing heavy.

Shizune was better off then the other chunin of Konoha. She swirled around, throwing poisonous needles at her opponents, not letting them get near her.

Kakashi was fighting for himself, a bit offside of his comrades. His blade sliced the enemies bodies and Naruto had to admit that this guy was talented. He looked more like he was dancing among the other shinobi, mimicking their movements. Like a copy cat.

And he seemed to enjoy it.

A sharp cry escaped Kakashi's mouth when a blade cut his side. He stumbled backwards and was about to fall to the ground. But Minato was already there and held his exhausted student upright.

"These guys!", Kakashi gasped and held his bleeding side. "They have all at least chunin rang!"

"They just keep growing out of the wall! There's no end to them!", Rin screamed and merely dodged an attack. Obito growled with anger and rammed his foot into the attacker's stomach, sending him flying against a wall.

"Why would Kirigakure send all their talented shinobi on this one particular mission?", Tsunade screamed over to Minato and broke another jaw.

Minato clenched his teeth and brought a guy down with a punch.

"Tsunade!", he yelled and blocked a blade. "Take Naruto and run! The masked man is waiting for you at the market place! You need to find out what is going on here!"

"But ...", Naruto started. Tsunade grabbed his arm and dragged him into an dark and small allay between two houses.

"They will be ok!", Tsunade said. "You need to trust in them!"

Naruto prayed that she was right. He turned away from the battlefield and started running, letting himself being dragged further towards the center of the village.

* * *

><p>"These guys were tough", Kakashi panted and kicked a lifeless shinobi who was lying on the floor in the side.<p>

Rin was sitting beside Obito who had grabbed his leg. Blood run through his fingers and his face showed a pained expression.

"Here, press that on the wound. It will soon stop to bleed", Rin told him and placed a tissue on the injury.

"Owwww, it hurts!", Obito howled and tossed his head to the side.

"Mindless moron. Don't make such a fuss!"

"Bastard! Why don't we switch?"

Minato was walking around between the bodies on the floor, searching for someone. His gaze fell on a tall guy who grunted softly and clutched his bleeding side.

Minato went over to him and kicked him in his would. The man's eyes opened and he let out a pained cry.

"Now, listen well, bastard!", Minato started and glared at the man on the ground. "I have a few questions and you will answer them. Here goes, first question: What do you guys want?"

The man laughed and spit out some blood on the Yondaime's feet. "Oh, I'm pretty sure you know what we want."

"What's your deal with Naruto?"

"These guys are after Naruto?", Obito asked and opened an eye, still pressing the tissue on his thigh.

"Of course, you dimwit! I always told you that this guy was hiding something! It's safer not to get involved with him!", Kakashi complained.

"Isn't that a bit mean, Kakashi-kun?", Rin asked him. Shizune came up running behind her and pointed at Kakashi.

"My sweet pour Naruto!", she said. "Don't you dare to hurt him!"

"Have you even listened to me? I said he's dangerous, why would you defend him?"

"Hah, bastard! You're just jealous! That's why you treat Naruto that way!"

"Could we just drop that subject already?"

"What do we want with him?", Minato asked the man on the ground again and put his foot on the man's chest.

The man just smiled a sly smile. "Nothing."

Minato let his foot sink deeper into the chest underneath it and earned a pained moan.

"What do you mean, nothing?"

"Are you deaf? Exactly that. We have absolutely no business with that blond brat."

The Yondaime raised his eyebrow. He was confused. "Then why are you here?"

The man laughed. "It seems like someone is willing to pay a lot of money in order to get hold of that boy."

Minato frowned.

The shinobi of Kirigakure was looking up from the ground into the Yondaime's face and hint of triumph glittered in his eyes.

"It was an order directly from the Mizukage. To tell you the truth, I'm interested in this boy myself. When he fought right now, you could see that he has absolutely no talent for jutsus. So why would somebody pay so much for a brat without any special abilities?"

Minato narrowed his eyes. "Sometimes you will have to search deeper down in order to find power."

The man laughed at him.

"Interested yourself, aren't you, Yondaime? Is that the reason you're so keen on protecting him? You are after his powers, too."

"You will not hurt him! Over my dead body!"

"No matter how seductive that offer sounds, I'm afraid that you will have to stay alive."

The man paused and lowered his voice. "Bringing him back with us to the village unharmed has top priority."

"However", he said and an evil smile spread on his face. "There were no orders related to you guys. We have the permission to kill you. Or that woman. That's if it's necessary to take care of her, of course."

The walls were dripping wet again and started to swirl.

"Oh god", Rin whispered. "How many more of them are there?"

"Just how many shinobi were sent by your village?", Minato asked angrily and stumped on the man's chest again.

"Enough to take care of you."

"Obito, you are injured! You can't fight anymore! You need to go after Tsunade and Naruto. Tell them it was a trap! Don't let Tsunade do stupid things!"

"But sensei ..."

"Go!"

* * *

><p>Tsunade was panting heavily. They were standing at the abandoned market place of the little village and tried to catch their breath. The boy next to her had placed his hands on his knees, resting his weight on them.<p>

"I knew you would come. No moth can withstand the light."

Naruto's head snapped up. He scanned the place around him, but couldn't seen anyone.

"Don't be a coward!", Tsunade screamed angrily. "Get out here and show yourself!"

A low chuckle was heard. A soft sound that made Naruto's hair stand on end.

A shadow broke away from a wall on the other side of the small place.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and tried to inspect the stranger. He was carrying a large object on his back. _His scroll!_

Naruto clenched his fists and let the anger roll over him.

And then the figure stepped into the sunlight. Black and white clothes were wrapped around his body and his face was covered by a mask.

_**"Madara."**_

_"_"_

_**"_"**_

_"_"_

_**" ... Did he gain weight?"**_

_"_"_

"Are these guys in the village your shinobi?", Tsunade asked and stepped closer to the guy.

"Stop the attack immediately!"

Naruto blinked and then he asked the man: "Who are you?"

Tsunade's mouth dropped. "Who is he?", She asked.

"Wait, does that mean ... "

"Yes."

"He isn't your father?"

The man laughed. A dark and humorless laughter.

"Of course not, dumb woman!" He grabbed the mask and pulled it off his face.

_"_"_

_**"A pufferfish?"**_

* * *

><p><em>Yeah, a pufferfish. That description really fits. You bet you all know the guy I'm talking about. For those who don't, just wait for the next chapter!<em>

_You are probably wondering why I made Shizune, who is normally a well organized and reasonable person, a little pervert in this story. Well, I wanted Naruto to have an admirer. And Shizune was the closest one to his age of the main characters._

_It's late again and I spent my whole weekend writing again. So please be nice and review :) _


	8. A porcupine fish with health problemes

_Hey guys, here comes a new chapter._

_I'M SO SORRY THAT IT TOOK SO LONG !_

_I was sick for a whole week. As soon as it was finally week-end I lay in my bed and couldn't move even one bit, nor write of course. Well, I still am sick but it doesn't feel like my brain wants to escape my scull every time I look at a computer screen anymore, so I can write again._

_Still that chapter was complicated for me. I'm no genius in writing battle scenes and it always takes some time for me to come up with the right ideas._

_I let my kind readers decide about that._

_Enjoy the new chapter!_

* * *

><p><strong>~ life is like drawing - just without a rubber ~<strong>

**~ chapter eight: A chapter about a porcupine fish with health problems ~**

The two blond shinobi were standing on the market place of the small abandoned village.

A warm breeze was blowing over the sandy ground and let their clothes flatter in a strange rhythm. The tall man had dropped his mask and regarded the people in front of him.

Naruto was confused. He certainly remembered Madara a different way. Not like a pufferfish. What the hell was going on?

The first thing that came to Naruto's mind, was that Madara had eaten too much over the few days they had been in the past. After plenty of thinking he concluded that a sudden snack attack of an Uchiha of all persons was rather doubtful.

A surgical intervention? No, Madara was not the type for that.

Maybe he changed his appearance with a genjutsu! No, that was not the right idea either. Naruto already knew what the Uchiha looked like, so what was the point of using one? And he seriously doubted that Madara would let his pride go down hill just for Tsunade not to see his face.

Yeah, his face! _The_ Madara Uchiha would never drop his mask in front of other people, genjutsu or not.

So that left only one conclusion: That guy was not Madara Uchiha! Naruto was proud of himself that he figured that one out. So far, so good.

Well, thinking about it calmly, this brilliant idea didn't help him. At all. No, it made things worse. Why in the world should someone who isn't Madara look for him? In this era? He couldn't make sense of it at all.

Tsunade gulpped and looked at Naruto. "He really isn't your father?", she asked and pointed at the pufferfish in front of her. "I mean, he looks like you."

"No he's not ... Hey! Just in what way does he look like me?", Naruto asked angrily. He had absolutely nothing in common with this man. Could he be mistaken for a pufferfish?

"Well, I mean, take a look at his face", Tsunade said. "He has the same three markings on his cheeks, just like you."

"Just because of the stripes? We look nothing alike!"

Yeah, nothing at all. Damn Tsunade, comparing his stunning beauty to this fish man! This guy in front of him ... he was just so ugly.

He was taller than every man Naruto had ever seen and his build resembled the one of a swiss ball. His skin had the colour of a raw fish and his long orange hair was tied up in a weird way.

But what really freaked Naruto out was the man's face. His mouth was filled with sharp teeth every shark would have been proud of. His fat cheeks were covered with three green stripes on each side. And these things did not look like Naruto's small birthmarks.

The stranger's eyes were so small and round that they could have been mistaken for caviar, even their expression was as blank as a fish's. But still the man's stare on Naruto sent chills down his spine. It was he same way a shark would stare at his prey before devouring it in one piece.

Naruto would have described the man as a shark, but his fat body, dressed ... no, more forced into black and white robes let him look like a pufferfish.

This was most certainly the kind of man who would never get a woman his whole life.

Now that Naruto took his time to regard the man in front of him, he noticed something else.

That thing on the man's back was not his scroll. It was something a lot bigger. That thing was wrapped up by white bandages, hiding it's material underneath it. Only a long stick was standing out. To Naruto that thing looked like a ice lolly. He was hungry.

Tsunade had also inspected the man's appearance. Naruto noticed her eyes narrowing to slits as she regarded the stranger's face.

Naruto was sure that he had never seen this guy before in his whole life, but this thing on his back ... it looked kind of familiar.

The blond boy was searching through the most remote parts of his brain, but he just couldn't remember. Aside from memories of the fridge at his apartment, long hot summerdays and the ice cream cart that was selling it's ice cream every monday in summer, there was only one word that came to his mind.

Ink.

Naruto shook his head. His brain was obviously no longer reliable. Ink! Just what relation had ink to an ice lolly?

He was pulled out of his thoughts as a voice rang in his ears.

The pufferfish was talking to him. Naruto's eyes grew wide. He had never heard a pufferfish talk. His voice seemed too high for a man of this high. And he was loud! Maybe because of the soundbox of his enormous body. With a bit of imagination, Naruto could even hear the man's voice gurgle like a fish.

"That was way more easy than I expected it to be", the pufferfish spoke and his caviar eyes rested on Naruto. "The rumor has it that blonds are dumb, but I didn't think that this little trick with the mask would worked that well."

Naruto clenched his fists. Had this look-alike fish just called him dumb? Him, the great Naruto Uzumaki? The seventh Hokage of Konohagakure? That guy had some nerves.

The pufferfish noticed his angry glare and continued his speech, now with a smile on his face that Naruto would have loved to smash with a large brick.

Well, he wanted to continue, but he was interrupted.

"You", Tsunade stuttered and draw the pufferfish's attention to her. She was trembling, and one look in her face told Naruto, that the sannin was shaking in fear.

The pufferfish looked at her with quizzical caviar ... uhm, eyes.

"You", she started again and starred with horror at the fish man.

"Is there something you want to tell me, woman?", the pufferfish asked and again smiled his little brick-smile. "If you don't intend on finishing your sentence, I hope you don't mind if I get on with business? I'm a busy man and have a lot of other things to do."

Naruto stared at Tsunade in disbelieve. His granny was shaking like a leaf in the wind and her face had now a unhealthy shape of green. She was opening and closing her mouth without a sound escaping. Hell, she started to look as much like a fish as the stranger in front of them.

"Baa-chan, what's wrong with you? Snap out off it!"

Tsunade turned her face his way and she was gabbing like a fish on dry land and her eyes were popping out of her head. Naruto was starting to get worried.

"Ok, calm down", he advised and started to rub her back in smooth motions. "Take a deep breath, baa-chan. Nothing's important enough to suffocate for it."

Tsunade closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she rested her eyes on the blond's face and opened her mouth again.

"Fuguki Suikazan."

"Huh?"

"Fuguki Suikazan. This guy", Tsunade said and pointed at the pufferfish. "He is Fuguki Suikazan."

"Uhm", Naruto asked and scratched the back of his head. "Should I know him?"

"You fool", Tsunade hissed. "Fuguki Suikazan is one of the strongest shinobi Kirigakure ever had! He is one of the legendary seven swordsmen!"

"Oooh", Naruto said. Something in his brain snapped in. He had heard of these seven swordsmen. Had it been Tsunade who told him? Or Iruka? Or Kakashi?

_**"Kit, you are hopeless. Even I know them and I was locked away for the last century. The legendary seven swordsmen are the pride of Kirigakure. All are very talented shinobi who use swords as their weapons. In the fourth ninja war they were revived by Kabuto. Don't you remember?"**_

_"Well, maybe baa-chan has told me about this once."_

_**"You personally meat one of them a long time ago. With team seven on your first real mission."**_

_"The one with the bridge? Why can you remember these facts so clearly while I can't?"_

_**"Kit, that was your first mission, you were so excited that it could have been considered as assault. It was also the first time you ever called for my powers."**_

_"I have met a swordsman there? Wait ... you don't mean Zabuza, do you?"_

_**"Exactly."**_

Naruto starred at the fish man in front of him. The swordsman's eyes rested at the blond's face. That man was dangerous.

_"This fish here is as strong as Zabuza?"_

_**"Maybe even stronger, judged by the look on your hag's face."**_

Kurama was right. For Tsunade to be so scarred, it didn't mean anything good.

"So Fuguki is your name, right?", Naruto asked and eyed the pufferfish warily. "So what does a big bug like you would want with me?"

Big bug ... well more like big fish but Naruto thought that it would be the best idea to keep that for himself.

"I was ordered", Fuguki stated dry-witted.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Ordered?

"This guy who came to our village", the fishman continued and spared Naruto kindly from having to figure out this whole mess by himself.

"He was so eager on catching you. So it is my job to bring you to him. Since he was willing to pay such a large amount of money, I would have bet that you wouldn't be this easy. Waste of money. Well, not that I'm one to complain." Again this brick-smile.

The man took a step towards Naruto, who instantly backed off. He didn't like that man.

"Who?", Naruto asked. He tried to swallow but his throat was dry. "Who ordered you to go after me?"

The swordsman smirked at him, as if he wanted it to be smashed of his face by a brick.

"Can't you imagine who it is? I think you know that even better than I do. That man seemed to know you very good. He exactly knew that you would come running to me if I would just wear a mask."

Yeah, Naruto could imagine.

The only one who knew about Naruto's goal and origin was Madara. Did he actually pay shinobi from Kirigakure for getting hold of him?

Naruto clenched his teeth. He should have known that something like this was going to happen. Madara was a sly fox and he knew how to avoid trouble. He was luring Naruto out without risking his own cover.

Naruto could feel Tsunade's burning stare in his neck.

He had to be careful. Just one wrong step and his cover was blown. And Naruto had never been the kind of person who was good at hiding. He was more of the offensive type, something that he was actually proud of. He was good enough not to need a cover. That's what he would always say. When it came to ambushes, he had always trusted on his comrades.

The only comrade in this era was Kurama, and considering that he was inside of his body, that fox was not very much of a help.

"Be careful, brat", Tsunade said, keeping her eyes glued to the Fuguki-guy. She had decided to let that subject slide for now and concentrate at the pufferfish. "This man's really strong. Don't act without thinking."

"Act?", the pufferfish asked and smiled his little brick-smile. "There's no need to act. No need to think either. Alea iacta est - the die is cast. I'll tell you what will happen."

Naruto's eyebrows twitched. He couldn't stand that man.

"So you've already decided what will happen?", he asked and laughed a dark and humorless laughter. "Don't make me laugh! I decide what I will do all by myself. I don't need your advise."

"Oh really?", Fuguki said and smiled his little brick-smile. "I'm not intending on giving you any _advise_ on what you'll do. I _decide_ what you'll do."

"Now I'm interested. So what is this future you set for me?"

"It's pretty easy: I have no desire to harm you, so you will surrender and come with me and my men back to Kirigakure without complains. There we will hand you over to the client and get our reward."

Naruto ground his teeth and stared at the man in front of him. He felt the cold metal of Obito's kunai against the heated skin of his arm. Good, it was still there. He had been smart enough to but it into the sleeve of his jacked, He would need it. His chakra still felt heavy. That kunai was probably the only weapon he had in a fight against a giant pufferfish.

"Really? Doesn't sound so nice to me. So what is my profit from that?"

"You will come with me and I will not harm your friends. This is your chance to protect them. Not a bad deal, is it?"

Yeah, not a bad deal. Not at all.

"So you think they are easy meat? Two of the strongest fighters of Konoha are with me: one of the legendary sannin and the future Hokage. What makes you think they need my protection?", Naruto asked and anger raised in his chest. "I will never obey. I will not go with you without fighting."

Maybe that was a bit of big talk. If he had to really fight this guy, he was at great disadvantage. His chakra was useless to him and Tsunade ... well, Tsunade in this era was not the strongest fighter. Especially with her phobia of blood.

"Confident, aren't we? I see, there's no getting through to you."

"You shouldn't underestimate me. The cornered rat can bite the cat."

Fuguki looked at him without answering. And then his little brick-smile turned into the smile of a shark.

"Tsunade, if you please!"

Naruto had a moment to wonder. A moment to ask himself if he had missed something. But not long.

Then something crashed into his back and he was knocked to the ground. His chin slammed on the floor and a sharp pain shoot down his neck. He rolled onto his back and tried to stand up, as a weight settled on his stomach. He gasped and coughed, moving one hand to rub sand out of his eyes. But his hands were grabbed and forced over his head. He tried to sit up but the weight on his stomach pressed him even closer to the ground.

Despite the pain in his spine, Naruto lifted his head and looked up to the person on top of him. His eyes were already watering from sand, dust and dirt. Naruto blinked the tears out of his eyes.

"Baa-chan, what are you doing?", he gasped and tried to shake the woman of his stomach, but she only tightened her grip on his wrists. "Let go of me!"

"Sorry brat, but I can't." Her eyes were cold, not even a hint of emotions to be found in her stare.

"You stupid old hag!", Naruto hissed and glared up to her. "Get off me! You are heavy! And you are braking my neck!"

"I told you, brat, I won't. If I let go of you now, you will give your best to run away. And I can't allow that."

"Oh yeah, and why is that?"

"We made a deal before we came here."

Naruto frowned.

"I understand. So that's the reason", he said and his anger vanished as fast as it had come. His body relaxed in her grip and he laid his head back on the ground.

Tsunade smiled down at him, but it was not the smile _his_ Tsunade had always given him. Her eyes remained cold. It was as if her smile couldn't reach them.

"My brother, he was so young! Whoever did that to him will pay for their deeds with their blood!"

"He has been dead for years now and you still don't understand it?", Naruto asked her coldly and stared straight into her eyes. He knew that he was being cruel, but right now he didn't care.

"Revenge won't bring him back nor make him happy! Revenge is nothing more than a bloody pointless act of desperation that will do nothing more but calm your mind for a short period of time!", he continued merciless.

His words were getting to her, he could see it by the way her eyes were narrowing and the anger that was raising behind her hazel orbs. But he didn't care. He didn't care anymore. If this woman, the woman who had taught him so many important things about life, love and friendship, was talking to him like this, how could he ignore it? How could he just stand still and watch while she changed like this? Changing. Changing like Sasuke.

"What will you do if your blood rage is over and reality gets to you? Revenge won't make YOU happy!"

"So what do YOU suggest I should do? Are you telling me to just sit around and wait for better times to come?"

He didn't answer. He couldn't answer that question. Since that was exactly what she had to do. But how could he possibly tell her that she would just have to wait about twenty more years for it to all work out. How could he tell a heartbroken woman who had lost everything that was important in her life, that all she could do is wait? While someone else was offering to lay _happiness_ in front of her feet? He couldn't. All he could do was to remain silent under her hands and stare at her face, saying nothing.

He didn't need to speak, she already knew his answer. His silence was answer enough.

"BRAT! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT ME?", she screamed down at him and her grip on his hands became painful. "YOU HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT REVENGE, SO WHY DON'T YOU KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT?"

Keeping his mouth shut? Being forced to watch how a person important to him was falling into hell? It didn't matter if he would scream at her if she couldn't hear him. Talking sense to her was useless if sense was not to get to her.

But on the other hand it didn't matter if he hurt her either. She already was being hurt.

Naruto kept his eyes locked with her's, letting his anger and desperation take over his tongue.

"Are you serious? I can not understand the sweet feelings of revenge? Of taking your whole anger and sorrow out on those people who made your live a living hell?"

Tsunade ground her teeth and tightened her grip on his wrists, strong enough to leave bruises. Naruto didn't even flinch. He couldn't feel how her nails bored into his skin. He didn't care.

"Oh, you are completely right. I have no idea what kind of feelings such a person has and I can't understand them either", he said and glared into her eyes. Blue into hazel.

"This kind of abnormal thoughts - I don't want to understand."

She was shocked. Her eyes were wide.

"You are crazy", she whispered with a shaky voice and let go of his wrists. "Absolutely crazy."

"You may be right", Naruto said, still not braking contact with her eyes. "However", he continued and withdraw his right hand into the sleeve of his jacket, closing his fingers around the cold steal of his there resting kunai.

"I know what I'm talking about. I have seen what revenge makes out of humans. I have seen what destructive power these feelings have inside the heart of a human. And I learned the hard way that there is no use of talking sense into this kind of people."

"What are you ..."

"Sorry, Tsunade-baa-chan", he told her and draw the kunai from it's stash. "But I think it's best if you go to sleep for a while."

With these words he swung the knife and pierced his own left hand.

Drops of blood flew through the air and soaked the sand beneath his fingers. Tsunade uttered a high-pitched scream and jumped up from his body.

She staggered backwards a few steps and fell to her knees again. Tsunade was shaking like a leaf in the wind and stared at her hands. Blood was dropping down between her fingers.

Naruto stood up from the ground and rubbed his sore neck.

"B ... Blood ... It's ... blood", Tsunade whimpered, not once raising her eyes from the red liquid on her palms.

"Why are you so afraid? Wasn't that what you wanted? Blood? Didn't you want to make the murderers of your brother bleed?", Naruto asked and watched the shaking woman kneeling in front of him.

She couldn't hear him. Her eyes were wide in horror and her hands were trembling in front of her face. For Naruto to see his loved granny in such a pitiful state, it was sad to watch.

He bent down and hugged her around the shoulders. She didn't react. Her eyes were still fixed on the blood on her hands and her body was shaking in his arms.

"It's time that you stop walking the comfortable way ... and start search for the right one", Naruto whispered in Tsunades ear and rammed his fist into her stomach.

Tsunade's hands clawed the clothes on his back. Her head bent over his shoulder and she spit blood.

She gasped for air. Her eyes widened as she stared at the blood that dripped from her mouth on the sandy ground.

Her eyes closed and her body went limb in Naruto's arms. He caught her before she could fall to the ground.

He looked down at her face with a guilty glance and rubbed her back with smooth motions.

"Aren't you a cruel person?", Fuguki asked behind him. Naruto didn't turn around to look at his face, but he could hear the man's brick-smile in his voice.

"You destroyed her dream, you know. She could have been happy."

"Oh shut up, you pufferfish. Don't talk about happiness and dreams so easily. Don't take other peoples suffering on the light shoulder."

Fuguki laughed and again Naruto had the wish to smash his face with a large brick. "What are you saying? I would have helped her to get revenge on her brother's murderers."

"Oh, really?", Naruto asked and lifted Tsunade on his shoulder. Then he walked away without looking back over his shoulder.

"Hey, where are you going? I'm not done with you! Stay here!"

"Take it easy, man", Naruto said calmly and walked to the next building. "I'm not running away."

He rested the unconscious woman against the wall. "Sorry, baa-chan. I didn't hit you hard. That won't hurt too much once you wake up, I promise."

Then he turned around and returned to the center of the market place.

"You can drop the act, pufferfish, Tsunade's sleeping. She won't hear us."

"Drop the act?", Fuguki asked and raised his eyebrow. "what do you mean?"

"Oh come on", Naruto said and glared with poor disgust at the man in front of him. "I know that you have no information to sell. Not in this life."

"Oh, so you figured out, huh? Well, not half bad. Your women over there had absolutely no clue that I was only fooling her. She went straight into the trap."

"About that", Naruto said and clenched his fists. The cut on his left hand was still bleeding badly, but it was easy to ignore the pain. He was furious.

"The trick of going to Tsunade in order to catch me ... where did you get that from."

"The whole plan had already been worked out by our costumer. It's my job to carry out the plan."

"Still, it's fun for you, isn't it?"

"Very."

"The deal is off", Naruto said coldly and tightened his grip on the kunai.

"There never was a deal to begin with", Fuguki informed him and smirked evilly, showing his needle-like teeth.

"People like you", Naruto growled and stared into the smirking face of the man in front of him. "Are really pissing me off."

* * *

><p>Obito was angry.<p>

First reason: His leg was hurt and it seemed like his sensei didn't care. No, he made him run through the alleys of this godforsaken village like crazy. And of course Obito had tripped. That didn't make the situation better.

Second reason: He hadn't been allowed to stay and fight together with his sensei and his beautiful Rin. Which made him feel like a weakling.

Third reason: There was ... well ... forget it. The first two had been the most important reasons, anyway.

However, sending Obito away like that ... it made him look like he wasn't able to keep up.

Kakashi had been injured, too, so his sensei's explanation that Obito was already hurt and should follow Tsunade-hag and Naruto in order to avoid being hurt any further, was bullshit.

Damn it to hell, Kakashi-bastard had been hurt even worse than him.

Obito smiled sadly.

Yeah, it was how it always had been. Kakashi was always a step ahead, and Obito was giving his best to outrun him, always behind him, always watching his back. Jet, he would never reach his goal.

And that was why he was here, running after Naruto and Tsunade, to_ warn_ them. While his comrades were fighting.

Oh, don't get the wrong idea. He liked Naruto. A lot actually. He was nice to Rin without being interested in her the wrong way. And he obviously didn't like Kakashi-bastard. Chalk up one for Naruto!

But the whole situation was just rankling him.

Naruto ... he somehow reminded the young Uchiha of himself. He seamed to have a knowing look in his eyes every time Kakashi-bastard let off one of his mean comments.

He seamed to understand the feelings Obito had every time Rin was ignoring him and clinging to Kakashi-bastard.

Naruto didn't pity him either, like his sensei did sometimes. It was more like ... well, he was like someone who knew these situations and how to deal with them.

Maybe he had been like Obito himself? A one-sided love? A rival who was not only getting the attention from your love but of everyone else? Being belittled for not having enough power? Like Obito?

Who knows? Naruto hadn't told the Uchiha anything about himself.

The blond was that kind of person everybody would trust without thinking twice. The kind of person everybody would feel attracted to. Well, maybe everybody except for Kakashi-bastard. Even his sensei had grown very attached Naruto. He was clinging to him like he was his long lost son. Well, those two looked so much alike, it was scary.

For Naruto to be, or have been in a similar situation like Obito ... well, it was possible.

But only assuming it wasn't enough. Obito wanted to know. Who Naruto was, were he came from, his story, everything. The Uchiha had caught fire and now he was interested. If he could only gain the trust of Naruto, Obito knew that there would be adventures waiting for him. And Uchihas love adventures.

Even if he had no sharingan and no talents like most Uchihas in his age, he still was a proud Uchiha, no doubt about it.

Obito grinned and increased his speed, running down the small alleys towards the center of the village.

What a Uchiha wants, a Uchiha gets.

* * *

><p>Naruto was leaning against a house wall and breathing heavy. Just like he had expected, this fight wasn't going too well for him. And luck wasn't on his side either. His opponent hadn't given him any opportunity to strike. All he could do was running from his enemy's attacks.<p>

"That's all you can do?", Fuguki asked him and eyed the panting boy in front of him with something like pity. "No jutsus, no predictors of any other kind of odd power. This fight is totally pointless, not to mention boring. Makes me wanna puke."

Naruto clenched his teeth and growled. He had tried to fight like he always did, but his chakra just didn't seem to work. He could not even create one simple shadowclone!

Not that he hadn't tried hard enough, but the few shadowclones he created in this battle were so weak that they had no other effect but to slow him down, so he had given up.

_**"I thought that this wench over there has fixed your chakra-flow, so why can't you use it?"**_, Kurama asked his blond host.

Normaly the fox didn't interfere with Naruto's battles and just stay silent, letting the blond do his own thing. However, as it looked like for now, Naruto was loosing this fight badly.

_"I don't know either. I can feel my chakra-flow! It's there, definitely! But I just can't control it!"_

_**"Remind me that I kick that witch's ass if we get out of here safely."**_

"How long are you going to just stand there and glare at me?", Fuguki snarled at Naruto and yanked him out of his thoughts. "This is getting boring. You were the one who insisted on fighting, so I suggest you entertain me!"

_"Kura-chan! Just look at this! The pufferfish is starting blow air into himself! Look, look!"_

_**"You idiotic kit! he is not blowing air into himself! His hair is transforming into needles!"**_

_"Transforming?"_, Naruto wondered and watched his opponent as he started to swell like a real pufferfish. His hair was standing on ends, in the true sense of the word, like long red needles. Very sharp long red needles.

"Oha", Naruto sighted and the fishman started to fire his ordnance. Red needles whirled through the air right towards Naruto. He swung his kunai in every direction, blocking needles. But there were just too many of them. they were ripping his clothes and tearing his skin. Blood run down his arms and legs.

He jumped away from the wall, running through the sand as fast as he could, dodging red needles. A last jump and the red rain was over.

Naruto was kneeling on the ground, gaping for air, panting heavily.

"Well, at least you are a really fast runner", Fuguki complimented him with one of his brick-smiles. "No one ever managed to dodge this many of my needles with just one kunai as a weapon. Congratulations!"

Naruto glared at him. This man was getting annoying. No need to hold back in this fight, he told himself and shoved the hilt of his kunai between his teeth. His only chance was to put all his eggs in one basket.

He raised his right hand and concentrated his chakra on his palm. It was heavy and viscous, moving through his body like glue.

Naruto closed his eyes and ground his teeth. Sweat was forming on his forehead and running down his face. His hand was hurting and his head started to ache from his efforts.

Creating a rasengan during a fight, while his shadowclones and his chakra were useless, quite the task.

But his chakra started to move. Circling in his palm, like a spiral of blue light.

"Oh, now that is interesting", Naruto heard the pufferfish mumble.

He opened his eyes and a rasengan was resting in his palm. Sure, it was smaller then the ones he usually created with his shadowclones, but it was a rasengan.

Naruto stood up from the ground and stared straight into Fuguki's eyes. The man was smirking at him. A boastful and confident smirk and Naruto started to hope again. This guy was obviously underestimating him. He had been so weak in this fight that this pufferfish was sure of his win. If Naruto could just get a good strike with this first rasengan, while Fuguki was still careless ... then he had a chance of taking him down.

Naruto smiled to himself and jumped forward, right at his opponent. Fuguki's eyes widened in surprise and Naruto flicked his hand with the rasengan at his chest. Victory!

A sharp pain raced through his arm. Naruto gasped and stumbled on his feet. The kunai was falling from his mouth on the ground. White lights were flickering in front of his eyes and he lost control over his rasengan. The blue spiral exploded in his palm and teared the skin of his arm. Naruto let out a strangled squeak while blood soaked the sleeve of his jacked.

His trembling legs came to a stop right in front of Fuguki and his arm fell to his side like the one of a marionette which's threads had been cut.

"How boring", Fuguki stated and looked down on the blond in front of him. Naruto panted, his face twisted to a grimace, while still waves of pain shot through his body. He looked up into the man's eyes and the caviar started to gleam. Shit!

Before Naruto could react, red needles shot trough his legs and feet. He screamed and his legs yielded under his body. His knees dropped on the sand and Naruto fell on the ground.

"Seems like the show is over", Fuguki stated and regarded the bleeding boy kneeling at his feet. "Well then, maybe it's time I introduce you to someone."

He grabbed the giant ice lolly and lifted it of his back. With one hand on the long stick, he grabbed the bandages with the other hand and ripped them off.

"Hey, kid! Say hello to Samehada, the most feared of the seven swords!"

Naruto could simply stare with an open mouth.

_**"Wow, I know that some people say, pets look like their owners, but that is really stupid."**_

_"A porcupine fish!"_

_**"You idiot! It's a sword!"**_

The ... thing in Fuguki's hands was large. It still had the form of a ice lolly, but now Naruto wasn't so eager on eating it anymore. The long sharp prickles would have ruined the taste adventure for good. The prickles were abutting flat and were shimmering in a metallic grey colour.

Only the hilt was clear of prickles. On the other end of the sword was a large mouth with sharp teeth.

That thing looked just like an porcupine fish. Naruto searched with his eyes over the whole sword, but eyes were nowhere to be found. Spooky.

But the most scary thing ... it was moving. Like a snake. His mouth was snapping open and close and it was twisting it's ludicrous ... body in Naruto's direction. Maybe it couldn't see him, having no eyes, but that thing could definitely feel that he was there.

"This one is my pride and joy", Fuguki informed him with a brick-smile. He used the free hand to stroke the porcupine fish's prickles, careful not to cut himself. "He is such an obedient and effective little fellow."

"Oh yeah? I thought you wanted me alive, so is that thing gonna do any good?", Naruto asked and tried to get up on his feet, keeping his eyes glued to his opponent.

"Like this!"

Fuguki grabbed Naruto's shoulder and threw him out off balance again. He stumbled over his feet and was about to fall to the ground again, but the pufferfish's tight grip on his shoulder kept him upright.

Fuguki swung his sword and a jaws with sharp teeth flew towards Naruto.

Samehada's long teeth pierced his shoulder. He cried out in pain as the the giant mouth tightened it's grip around him. He tried to shake the sword off him, but all his struggles were stopped by the pain in his body.

Fuguki was laughing. "It is useless to struggle! You are already within my hands."

And the sword started to suck.

"Gah! ... Wha ... t is this thing doing?", Naruto rasped out and put his hand on the sword to rip it of his shoulder, but his hand was cut by the sharp prickles and he was forced to let go again.

"Samehada is sucking out your chakra. Once he is finished with you, you won't be able to even move a finger!"

Sucking his chakra? More like sucking his blood. It felt like the sword was sucking Naruto's veins dry.

Naruto dropped to his knees. With every gulp of chakra the sword sucked out of his body, Naruto's eyes were getting more heavy.

Naruto blinked and tried to stay conscious. He grabbed the sword, not caring that his hands were being cut, and tried to rip it of his shoulder, but it didn't move even a bit.

His eyes were so heavy, it was hard to keep them open.

"Got cha!"

Naruto's eyes closed and the world was turning black.

* * *

><p>When Naruto woke up again he was laying on his stomach on the ground. His shoulder was hurting and his vision was blurry. He lifted a numb hand and rubbed his eyes in order to get a clear eyesight.<p>

He was still laying on the dusty marked place. The sword had let go of him and Fuguki was gone. Naruto could only have been unconscious for a few minutes. He lifted his head of the ground and grunted. Ignoring the pain in his neck, he looked around. Had the pufferfish really left him here?

No, there was the large man. He was standing not far away from Naruto and didn't even deign to look at him. He was apparently really mad, stamping on top of a large prickly thing that was laying flat at his feet and screaming something that Naruto couldn't understand. That was the porcupine fish.

_**"Kit, are you alright?"**_

_"Ink."_

_**"What?"**_

_"I have seen that sword before. Ink."_

_**"Of course you have seen it somewhere before! It tried to rip you to shreds just now!"**_

_"No, I mean before that. Before our time travel. Ink. It is B's sword!"_

_**"Did that sword hit your head?"**_

_"Now, look, I'll explain it to you. Ink. Where does ink come from?"_

_**"From China."**_

_"Oh come on!"_

_**"Uhm, from water and soot, I guess."**_

_"No, you dumb fluffy fox. From a octopus!"_

_**"That's no real ink!"**_

_"Shut up and listen! Ink comes from an octopus and the eight-tails is an octopus-monster. And B is the host of said octopus-monster. Ink, B. everything clear so far? Octopus, damn, I'm hungry!"_

_**"God, and I always thought you were dumb. But it seams like that only your brain works another way than the one of a normal human."**_

_"Why does that pufferfish has it? I always thought it belonged to Itachi's partner ... what was his name again ... before it was B's."_

_**"I heard that Kisame killed it's former master. Seems like it was this guy."**_

_"Damn, that sword is really popular, isn't it?"_

Kurama didn't answer and Naruto sat up from the ground. He moaned and stretched his back. It was hurting, he had probably hit it while falling unconscious. He felt warm liquid running down his arm from his left shoulder. Blood, he assumed.

_"Tell me, Kurama, just what is that pufferfish doing over there?"_

Fuguki was now jumping up and down on his sword and screaming like a mad shark. Could sharks even scream? Naruto had no idea. But this man was screaming and not too quiet.

Things like "Get up" and "Move already, no time for sleeping" were reaching Naruto's ears.

But the sword obviously didn't want to move. It was simply lying on the ground. It's prickles were slack and its tongue was hanging out of it's mouth. It looked sick.

Fuguki was giving up on trying to revive his sword and decided that it would be much more effective to scream at Naruto.

"What did you do to Samehada, you little punk?", he hissed and glared at the blond boy who was still sitting on the ground.

"What, me?", Naruto asked, not a bit less aggressive. "I didn't do anything! You were the one who attacked me! It's your sword so you should take care of it yourself!"

Samehada let out a agonized noise.

"Don't make me laugh! After he sucked your chakra he dropped to the ground and was like this!"

"Maybe it caught my cold", Naruto considered thoughtfully.

"SWORDS DON'T CATCH COLDS!"

"Hey man, take it easy", Naruto tried to calm down the pufferfish, but it didn't work. He was definitely really upset over his ill pet.

_**"For me it looks like he had eaten too much"**_, Kurama joined the conversation, telling his opinion everyone who wanted to hear it. Well, just Naruto.

_"Eaten too much? Maybe my chakra was so good that he simply overeat himself."_

_"**So good? It looks more like he has gotten ill from it!"**_

_"My chakra is perfect and tastes perfect!"_, Naruto thought angrily. _"There is no way somebody would get ill from it!"_

_**"Ok, kit. I was just thinking."**_

Naruto was taking a deep breath to calm himself. "So when he is now sick just because he ate my chakra", Naruto said and scratched the back of his head, "Then it is his own fault. I mean if he can't appreciate it ..."

A large hand grabbed his collar and yanked him at his feet.

"So it really is your fault!", Fuguki screamed at him and shook him angrily.

"Damn, did I say that out loud?", Naruto asked and tried to keep his balance.

"You will pay for ruining my sword, you jerk!", Fuguki swore and swung his fist at Naruto.

The blond could hardly dodge it. He stumbled but the grip on his collar kept him upright. The next punch got him on his cheek and his head flew back painfully. Naruto grunted and lifted his hands to block another strike.

"Let go of my hand!", Fuguki screamed and shook Naruto violently, but the blond only grabbed his fist tighter.

They stood there, on the empty marked place, staring into each other's eyes, panting heavily.

And then Naruto felt something. A pulse. Again. And again.

It felt like chakra was flooding his veins, pulsing rapidly through his body, setting every piece of his skin on fire.

Naruto laughed. He couldn't stop himself. He kept on laughing while the blue fire was racing trough his veins.

Fuguki let go of his collar. A scared look had gotten on his face, his eyes where shining with fear. He tried to step back, but Naruto kept his grip on his wrist.

"Oh no, my friend. You are not going anywhere", Naruto said and his voice was low and dangerous. "Up to now, you have been taking advantage of my sorry state, but now that will be different."

Naruto laughed and raised his hand. He didn't even need to concentrate. Blue flares of chakra were already spinning in his palm, a lot bigger then the last time, bringing the air around them to the boil.

"This time", Naruto said and stared in the little caviar eyes of his opponent, which had lost all their strength. "IS MY TURN!", Naruto screamed and rammed the rasengan into the pufferfish's stomach.

The effect was enormous, way stronger then it was with his normal rasengan. Fuguki spitted blood and his eyes were popping out of his skull. He flew through the air and slammed into the next wall, which he promptly took down. Rocks, blood and dirt was flying through the air. The noise of the impact resounded over the abandoned market place.

And them everything was silent. Fuguki was lying on the ground about fifty meters away from Naruto. The bricks of a destroyed house wall were scattered around his head. Blood was flowing out of the corner of his mouth.

Naruto smiled to himself and rubbed his neck. Mission complete.

_**"Wow"**_, Kurama stated as Naruto went over to the man on the ground and sat on the large stomach. _**"You did an incredible job. That one is out."**_

Naruto put one foot on the pufferfish's fat cheek and shook the man awake.

The fishman grunted and stared at Naruto with his little caviar eyes.

"No need for the hateful stare", Naruto smiled and nudged the man with his foot. "There is one job you can do for me so listen closely, not that you mess it up, ok?"

Fuguki kept silent.

"I want you to send the man with the mask greetings from me. You can tell him one thing: Don't underestimate the seventh Hokage of Konohagakure!"

Fuguki's eyes widened in fear. Naruto just gave him a breathtaking smile.

Then the pufferfish spoke and his voice was dripping with hatred.

"You won't get away with this! That man will catch you somehow, I promise!", Fuguki screamed and laughed the laughter that Naruto would have loved to smash with a large brick.

And this time he did.

* * *

><p>"And then, and then", Tsunade explained happily and smashed her plate with her chopsticks. "I woke up and Fuguki was lying on the ground, looking like a deflated pufferfish! The brat was sitting next to me looking all worn out and explained that I bet this man up and then fell unconscious because of my fear of blood."<p>

"Tsunade, keep it down a bit, the people are staring already", Minato tried to convince her.

The group was sitting in a restaurant at the river. They had returned to the village of gambling and had been very hungry. Rin had suggested to go and eat something, which she now regretted deeply. Tsunade was getting the whole attention from the restaurant and not in a good way.

Rin was hiding behind her glass of limonade and tried to look as small as possible.

Kakashi wasn't eating anything. He was mad that he had been injured in the fight with the shinobi of Kirigakure. He was just sitting there, arms crossed and regarded how Shizune ate her grilled fish.

Obito hadn't said much this whole time.

Minato had been pretty worried that the Uchiha was ill but then he had just assumed that he was probably angry that he had been sent away from the fighting grounds, and dropped that theme. Minato had just ordered a ramen like Naruto and made a promise to himself to buy something good for Obito before the would leave.

Naruto smiled and slurped his ramen. He was damned happy. A cup of hot ramen, a beautiful sunset and a won battle, what could be better?

Well, for example it he got the attention for his victory and not Tsunade, but he couldn't have anything, right?

* * *

><p>Naruto was standing up from the pufferfish's stomach and dropped the bloody brick. He was tired and worn out. And hungry.<p>

_**"Hey kit, don't fall asleep here. What should we do with the hag?"**_

Naruto rubbed his eyes and looked over to the unconscious Tsunade. _"I think we should wake her up and tell her some story about just how great she beat that pufferfish before she flaked out because of the blood."_

_**"Do you think she will believe that?"**_

_"We can only try"_, Naruto said and went over to the woman. He bent down in order to shake her body, but a sharp pain shoot through his shoulder.

"Oww", he moaned and put his hand under his jacked and t-shirt and rubbed the wound carefully. Blood was flowing out where the sword had bitten him. The warm liquid was running through his fingers.

Naruto sighted and pulled his hand out form underneath his clothes.

His glance fell on his hand and he frowned.

_"What is this?"_, he asked and stared at the blue liquid that was running trough his fingers and dropping on the sandy ground.

* * *

><p>After the sun had set behind the mountains, the group had decided to go back to the hotel and their beds to rest for the night.<p>

Tsunade couldn't sleep. She was way too excited. The woman rolled on her back and stared at the ceiling. She didn't remember having beaten up Fuguki Suikazan but if that was what the brat said she did, then it would probably be right.

At first she had been disappointed because of the deal, but after Naruto had told her that the man had tried to trick her, she was just proud of herself to have kicked his ass.

Minato couldn't sleep. There were just too many questions going through his head. Why was someone searching for Naruto? Why couldn't Tsunade remember anything? Who was Naruto really? He groaned and rolled on his side, pulling the blanket up to his nose. He would definitely find out about that. But not today.

Shizune couldn't sleep. She was lying in her bed and squirming with joy. She was thinking of hundred of different ways how she could get close to Naruto and one was better as the other. She pulled her blanket over her head and squeaked. Maybe tomorrow she would play a nurse.

Rin couldn't sleep. She was worried about Kakashi. His wounds were so bad and he hadn't want her to look after them. He had just screamed at her to leave him alone. She closed her eyes and a tear was rolling down her face. Maybe tomorrow he would be nicer.

Kakashi couldn't sleep. He was mad. He had been injured badly by the shinobi and was now not allowed to take on a mission for the next two weeks. No matter how hard he had begged, his sensei had just stayed cold. He was angry that Rin had only whined and clung to him like a whore and he was mad because Shizune hadn't even looked at him. The black-haired girl had just been concerned about Naruto and his wounds, ignoring Kakashi completely. Damn, he had been injured far worse then this blond freak.

Obito couldn't sleep. he was lying on his back, the arms behind his back and thinking. Just thinking. He was calm, he hadn't been so calm for years. Maybe his Uchiha blood was taking over, now that he really needed it. Tomorrow he would start and he would succeed. Without fail.

Naruto was sleeping. He was terribly tired.

* * *

><p><em>Pew, that chapter is finally finished. Took me two whole weeks. Please review :)<em>

_This chapter was the end of the short "Tsunade-ark". The next chapter will be a filler chapter. But don't worry, it won't get boring. I'm using it for character introduction. Jiraiya, Kushina, Sasuke's parents - there are still many characters missing!_

_Oh yeah, and we will hear a bit more about Obito, next time._

_So look forward to the next chapter!_


	9. others have problems  I have a family

_Hey guys! Here's the next chapter._

_Thanks for all the nice reviews! It's really cool to read that other people like your stories. The last chapter seemed to be taken quite well, so I'm going to give my best on this one, too._

_This is the beginning of a new part of the story. I have been waiting to write this._

_Some said that I made Naruto too weak. Maybe? Could be true. Hm, I'll make the next battle a bit different, but that might take a few more chapters._

_There was also the comment that the title of this story doesn't fit._

_I wanted to correct this: I thought about the title a lot before I started writing the first chapter, and yeah, it does fit. But you will have to read till the end! I hope you will and I'll do my very best to keep this story interesting!_

* * *

><p><strong>~ life is like drawing - just without a rubber ~<strong>

**~ chapter 9: other guys have problems - I have a family ~**

Tsunade walked through the corridors of the hospital. Cold neon light shone down from the ceiling. Not that it was really necessary to turn on the lights on a sunny day like this one. But down in the basement, the little windows were never cleaned and the thick layer of dirt that was covering the glass blocked out every ray of sunlight.

Tsunade stopped at the last door of the corridor and pulled out a key. She unlocked the door and turned on the light. The white neon lamps flickered and lightened the room.

This part of Konoha's hospital had once been a very busy and important place, but with the renovation a new laboratory had been build and the old one had been shut down.

Dusty test tubes stood on the old tables and the equipment looked like it would fall apart as soon as they were touched.

Tsunade scrunched her nose. The smell of mold and old blood was in the air. This laboratory hadn't been used for years.

Tsunade opened one of the cupboards and gripped the chemicals she needed for the tests. The labels were dusty and discolored, but the liquids were still there, just like she remembered.

Tsunade closed the cupboard and went over to a table. She put the chemicals down and picked up the old test tubes on the table top. She threw them carelessly on the ground. The glass shuddered and spilled their content on the floor. Tsunade didn't bother. There wouldn't be anyone coming down and complaining about it anyway.

The blond woman sighted and looked around in the room. She couldn't believe that this place was the reason she had come back to the village. Bleak, dirty and dark. Just the way she remembered Konoha, the place she had never wanted to return to again.

But she had.

She told herself that there had been a few good reasons to do so.

For once, she had wanted to brag with her victory over one of the seven swordsmen of Kirigakure. A sanin would always stay a sanin, no matter if she had stopped being a professional ninja or not.

And Shizune would have been sad otherwise. No sooner had Minato announced that it would be time to return to the village, her little aprentice had started crying and clinging to Naruto's arm. The poor brat had tried to convince her to let go of him because he was too old for her, but that hadn't changed anything. In the end Tsunade had complied and allowed Shizune to come along. The little Shizune had really a lot of control over Tsunade.

So Tsunade, Shizune and the little pig Tonton had been traveling along with Minato and his team.

The little pig hadn't been too happy and squeaked the whole way back to the village. Tsunade had suggested to grill it and eat it as their provision, but Shizune had refused. The girl always said that a pig was a lucky charm and it would be unforgivable to eat it.

Tsunade didn't believed the whole shit. If Tonton was really a lucky charm, then why did she always lose her gambles? However, in the end the pig hadn't been eaten. These eyes were just too cute.

Tsunade put her hand on the table top and the dust stuck to her fingers. She sighted and wiped her had clean on her trousers. She bent down, opened one of the drawers and pulled out a few new test tubes.

The laboratory had been the main reason for returning to the village. Here she would find anything she would need for her tests.

She put the test tubes on the table and pulled out two little bottles out of the pocket of her white coat.

Tsunade held them against the neon light and regarded their content interested.

The blood in the first glass was murky and a bit clotted. No wonder, it was already a few days old. She had took it from Naruto the night after the operation. He had been unconscious and so she had been able to take the blood without his consent.

The blood in the other bottle was Minato's. It had been very easy to get at it. Tsunade had been staying in the same room with him in the city of gamble and Minato was a very heavy sleeper.

This laboratory would give her everything she would need for her tests. Even the needed privacy.

She put the bottles on the table and started working. The laboratory was familiar heavy smell of blood in the air didn't help either.

This place was bringing Tsunade's memories of the past back. Of a past full of blood and darkness.

The blond woman choked. She felt drops of sweat run down her forehead. She tried to shake of the panic she felt raising in her chest. But the feeling was only gripping her heart tighter and her hands started to shake. She could hear her own heartbeat in her ears. She put the bottles down on the table before she could spill them and staggered over to one of the small dusty windows. Tsunade opened it, closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh air, trying to calm herself down. It worked. Her hands stopped shaking and her heart beating slowed down.

The woman sighted and leaned against the wall, her eyes still closed, and let the warm breeze from outside stroke her face.

She opened her eyes and looked around in the room. A few rays of sunlight shone on the abandoned glasses on the tables. From here the laboratory had nothing frightening. It was nothing more then a dusty room.

Tsunade made an effort and went back to the table with the bottles of blood on top of it, leaving the window open so the sunlight would shine through it and take her fear away.

She took a pipette and dripped a bit of the blood on two glass slaps. She put them under the microscope and regarded them with the lens.

And what she saw there, made her forget her previous fear.

* * *

><p>Minato was tossing around in his bed. He groaned and pulled the blanket over his head.<p>

His alarm clock lay on the floor, broken into pieces. Still the annoying ringing didn't stop.

No doubt, that was the door bell. At three o'clock in the morning.

Minato sighted and pulled the blanket of his body. Now that he was already awake, he could at least open the damn door before it would wake up the rest of the house.

The blond man yawned and stretched the back of his head as he walked through the hall. He opened the door in his pyjamas and regarded the person who was evil enough to interrupt his sleep.

"Shizune, what the hell do you want here at three in the morning?", he asked and looked down at the girl in front of him.

"Just in case you didn't notice, it's already quarter past three. I ringed at this door for fifteen damn minutes."

Shizune looked at least as tired as Minato felt. Her hair was messy and there were dark circles around her eyes.

"I don't know, I broke my alarm clock at three."

"Figures."

"So what do you want?", Minato asked. "What's so important that you couldn't tell me after breakfast?"

"Hey, I'm not very happy with it either", Shizune complained and crossed her arms over her chest. Even in this tired state she was still able to glare.

"Tsunade shook me out of bed. I'm here to pick you up. She said it's important."

"Oh yeah? Why?"

Shizune just shrugged. "Dunno. But she was really exited. She has locked herself into this old laboratory for two whole days."

"Old laboratory?"

"The old one of the hospital."

"Oh, I see. That one wasn't use ever since the second shinobi war. What is she doing there?"

"No idea what she was doing there but it was really fascinating her. So I suggest you to put on some clothes and come along. Otherwise she will be very angry."

Minato closed his eyes. He knew that Shizune was right. He had no other choice.

"Alright, come in", he said and opened the door so that Shizune could enter his flat. "I'll get dressed. Just wait here for a while."

Minato stepped into his bedroom again and started to pull out some clothes out of his wardrope. Shizune closed the door behind her and looked around in the flat.

"Nice place, here", she stated and looked into the living room. "It's small, though."

"Hmm, just try to be silent", Minato said and pulled a black t-shirt over his head. "I don't want to wake up Naruto."

"So he's staying with you?", Shizune asked and stepped out of the living room back into the hall.

"Yeah, he does not have a other place to stay and this flat is big enough. He's staying in the guest room. I want to keep an eye on him and like this he is always around me."

"I see. Which room is the guest room?"

"The last door in the hall", Minato answered and went back to the door to put on his sandals.

"So, I'm ready", he said and took his key from the keyboard. No answer.

"Shizune?", he asked and turned around. "Just what are you doing there?"

Shizune turned red and stepped back from the door to the guest room. "Well, you see", she said embarrassed. "I was wondering ... I have given you the message to come to Tsunade, so I finished my job. I'm sleepy and so I wanted to ask Naruto if he had enough place for me in his bed."

"Forget it! That guy is way too old for you! If you really are that sleepy just go back to your own hotel room and sleep there!"

"Sorry!"

* * *

><p>"Do you know what that is?", Tsunade asked and brandished the test tube of blood in front of Minato's nose.<p>

Said blonde shook his head tiredly. "No, I don't. But like I know you, you'll tell me anyway, whether I want to know it or not", he answered and suppressed a yawn.

"This", Tsunade stated triumphantly, "is the one fantastic thing that will throw over your whole boring life!"

Minato said nothing.

"You can look as uninterested as you like, but you can't fool me", Tsunade laughed and turned away from the sleepy man. She picked up her notes from the laboratory bench and started explaining.

"At first I couldn't believe it myself, but I've made a hundred different tests. I've worked down here for two whole days and now I am absolutely sure!"

Tsunade spon around and her eyes gleamed. "Naruto is your ... I had no idea that a human being is capable of sleeping while standing."

Minato snored.

* * *

><p>The gate keeper looked up from his morning sandwich as the woman walked towards the gate of the village. He put his meal back on the plate and nudged his partner, who was sleeping with his head on the table, in the side.<p>

"Look who's back", he told the sleepy man and pointed at the long haired woman who was approaching the gate.

The second gate keeper rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He regarded the woman and a smile settled on his face.

"Good morning, sunshine!", he shouted over to the woman. "What an unusual time to come back! So early in the morning!"

The woman laughed and stepped in front of the table. "It has been a long mission and I miss my fiance. I didn't feel like staying away from the village for another day, so I traveled over night."

"So you've finished your mission", the gate keeper with the sandwich answered and looked up to the woman in front of him.

"You can bet on it!", she said and saluted. "I am a top class ninja and a top class ninja never returns until he has completed his mission correctly and perfect!"

The gate keepers chuckled. "When you were younger, that was a bit different, wasn't it?", one of the man answered. "I remember how you showed up here after a mission, looking like ..."

"Hey", the woman interrupted him. "No need to bring back old memories. That was embarrassing, ok?"

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Good", she said and turned away from the men and towards the gate. "I have to inform old man Hokage about my mission! I'm off now!"

"Have a nice day", a gate keeper shouted after her.

"Sure!", the woman screamed over her shoulder. "You two just do your job to keep our village safe!"

She disappeared through the gate and her laughter died down, until it was drowned out by the morning song of the birds.

"She's a fine woman, really", one gate keeper said and picked up his sandwich from the plate.

"Yeah, too bad that she already has a fiance."

"Minato is one lucky bastard."

* * *

><p>Kushina walked through the deserted streets of Konoha. Most people were still asleep.<p>

She stroked a flick of her long deep red hair out of her eyes, bent her arms and enjoyed the warm light of the raising sun on her face.

She had been gone for three weeks. Three long weeks away from her beloved Konoha, her beloved friends, her beloved fiance.

Minato.

She had really missed him.

Kushina had known him since their time at the academy and she remembered every single moment she had spent with him.

The first time she had seen him: In the academy on her first day. He had looked like a weakling, with his girly face and the long blonde spiky hair. She hadn't payed attention to him that time.

But now that she thought back, he was the only guy in the class who had never laughed about her hair or her dream of becoming the first female Hokage.

The first time she had talked to him was at the ramen stall. Kushina had been sitting there, eating one bowl of ramen after another and Minato had been sitting next to her, talking about school he thought that was boring, teachers he liked or disliked, parents he never had, things he loved to eat (ramen included), classmates who he thought were acting childish.

Nothing that she thought was very interesting but it was just wonderful to sit next to him and hear the sound of his voice. But then he had told her about his dream of becoming Hokage and that he would have to fight her if she also wanted that title. Noone had ever took her seriously, no one.

But he did.

The moment she had realized that she enjoyed listening to that blonde boy and that he actually thought they were equal, she had made a run for it, leaving the bill for ten extra large bowls of special ramen for him to pay.

That was the first night she hadn't had a bit of sleep because of him. At that time she didn't know that many such nights would follow.

Kushina remembered the first time Minato had saved her. Of course there had been other times like this but this one was carved into her memories: The day he had told her that he liked her hair colour, the day she had fallen in love. Kushina had always been bullied for her red hair but Minato apparently didn't think that it was ugly.

After that day she had tried anything to get his attention. She had started to learn for school to get good grades and had played even more pranks to get him to look at her. She had learned how to cook different things than ramen and she hadn't been bad at it. She had brought nice clothes, started to put on make-up and even styled her hair.

However, there had been a lot of rivalry under the Kunoichi. Minato had been a popular guy: He was very talented, had a good character and he had the looks.

Kushina had been his friend since the day he saved her but that wasn't enough for her.

She wanted to be his girlfriend.

But in the end, she had only been one of many girls seeking for his attention. In some moments she had hated herself for running after that guy like a lovesick dog. That was against the rule of pride of the Uzumaki-clan, her own pride. But every time Minato had touched her hand and smiled at her, Kushina's heart had skipped a beat and she had forgotten every little bit of her pride.

And then one day, he had finally kissed her.

It had been one of many days when the two had eaten dinner together at Kushina's favorite ramen stall. It had been a rainy day and after they had eaten, the two of them had been sitting on a bench in the park despite the drizzle falling on their heads.

They had been talking about minor things and then out of the blue, Minato had taken her face in his hands and kissed her. Minato had tried to coax her into kissing him back and hell, he was a good kisser, but Kushina had been too shocked to respond.

When Minato had released her lips, he had been scarlet red and mumbled something like "Sorry" and "I didn't mean to" and "let's just pretend that never happened". He had seemed to be very disappointed that she had just sat there doing nothing while he had done his best to make her enjoy the kiss. Thankfully she had reacted just in time to grab Minato's arm before he could leave.

The only thing Kushina had said was "took you long enough" before she had pounced on the surprised boy. What had followed had been a make out season in the drizzle with Minato lying on his back on the bench and Kushina on top of him.

Of course she had been the dominant one, like she had always been in their relationship. And still was up to now.

The moment would have been perfect if it hadn't been for Shikaku Nara to take a walk in the park after dinner. He had caught them rather accidentally but he had seen everything.

At first Kushina had been worried about their relationship to come out, mostly because she had wanted to avoid being torn from limb to limb by her boyfriend's fangirls, but Minato had calmed her down.

Shikaku had always been a lazy guy and like Minato had promised, he had really been too much of a laid-back guy to tell the other ninjas even one word. Unfortunately the only one Shikaku had told about his discovery was his girlfriend Yoshino and Yoshino was a magpie.

From that day on no matter where Kushina had gone, cold eyes and mean comments had followed her.

Many Kunoichi's had said that she had forced Minato to kiss her and their whole relationship was fake. Only after she had made out with him in front of his whole fanclub and he had obviously enjoyed it, judged by his enthusiastic tongue in her mouth, his moans and groans and his hand in her hair, pressing her closer to his body, the girls had to give in.

Not that that had stopped them from being mean.

Ever since then Kushina had not only beaten up guys, but also girls.

After three months of dating, Minato's fanclub had finally stopped bothering her, and so she could fully concentrate on her boyfriend.

Kushina had organized dates, candle light dinners and picnics in the park. She had loved to lie next to Minato, watching the clouds, her head on his chest and his fingers in her hair that he loved so much.

They had meat every day when they hadn't been on missions, and Minato had always bought flowers for her. Many flowers. Mostly red roses.

Kushina had paved her whole flat with them, using empty ramen cups as vases. Minato once told her that he thought that ramen cups weren't a romantic way to keep presents of a lover, but to Kushina, there was nothing in the world that was more romantic then her boyfriend, red roses and ramen.

Those three things in combination was the best thing she could think off and she had told him that.

Minato had laughed, kissed her on top of the head and the issue was over. However he had still eyed the ramen cups disapprovingly and he had started to buy vases to every flower bouquet he gave to her.

All in all, ever since Kushina had met Minato, she had viewed her life through rose-coloured glasses.

She had moved in with him two years ago. They both had no family, so noone had complained about the two of them being engaged at such a young age.

They had started their own family. They weren't alone anymore.

Then, half a year later this whole mess had started. And Minato had changed. He was still the same old cheerful Minato with the goofy smile she loved so much, but there were moments when he was worried. When he didn't smiled.

At first Kushina hadn't known what was going on.

His missions were getting longer and more dangerous and on some days his smile had completely disappeared.

She had been full of resolution to find out why he was changing. She had spied on him and a few weeks later, she had been successful.

She had overheared a conversation between the third Hokage and her fiance. Kushina had wanted to skin the old man alive, but after only two rampages Minato could convince her to listen. He had explained the importance of this whole bullshit and she had promised to let the old geezer live.

Under one condition: She would take part in the plan to support her fiance. Minato, of course, had wanted her to stay out of it. It was one of the rare times when he had actually talked back to her. But Kushina was the one who wore the breeches in their relationship, so only one glare from her had been enough to make him stop complaining.

The old Hokage had agreed, not that he had another choice. She was the blood-red Habanero after all and he had no interest in dying.

Kushina was now part of the whole mess and had been sent on the same dangerous missions. Like this one.

The Kunoichi put her red hair behind her ear and walked faster.

No matter how much she wanted to be with Minato right now, she would have to pay a visit to the Hokage first.

And give him a piece of her mind.

* * *

><p>"Excellent job, Gushing!", the Hokage complimented her and looked at her over the frame of his reading glasses. "Your mission is finished. Good work, I'm proud of you!"<p>

"No problem for me at all, you can always rely on me! Something like this, I do with my eyes closed!", Kushina said proudly and tapped herself on her chest.

The old man smiled at her. "Really? So I can count on you?"

"Hah! Believe it!"

"I'll keep that in my memory", Sarutobi said and laid back in his chair. "You're probably tired right now. You can go home and sleep for a while."

"I'm already awake", Kushina pouted childishly. "I couldn't sleep now even if I tried to."

"Then tell Minato to come to me after breakfast. I have a mission that might interest him", the Hokage answered and turned back to the heap of paperwork that was waiting for him to read through it.

"Old man", Kushina said and went over to his desk. "I wanted to talk with you about something."

Sarutobi looked up from the formulas and looked up to the smiling woman in front of him.

"Sure, I'll hear you out."

"Yeah, I suggest you to do so, otherwise I will be really mad at you", the Kunoichi said and sat down on the edge of the desk.

Kushina grapped the Hokage's cheeks and stretched them really hard. The old man looked like a bullfrog.

"Ow!", he screamed and tried to rip her hands of her face, but she only stretched his face even wider.

"Listen", Kushina said and her smile had nothing friendly anymore. She looked like a red dragon who was about to spit fire. "I have been gone for this mission for two whole weeks and I expect to spend at least one week together with my fiance, ok?"

Sarutobi whimpered and tears filled his eyes. "He's the next Hokage. It's his duty."

"Oh?", Kushina growled and the old man could have sworn that her fierce red hair started to flow in the air as if it was charged.

"Being Hokage is for Minato not just some game! It is his long life childhood dream! So why do you have to go and ruin it for him?", she grunted and pressed her fingers so tight together that it would leave bruises on the man's cheeks. To him, Kushina had started to look like the devil in the flesh. If he would just search trough her red hair long enough, he was sure that he would find horns on her head.

"I know that! But as the Hokage I must do anything in my power to protect the village. Minato understood that for the sake of Konoha his personal dream would have to be neglected", Sarutobi answered and prayed to god that that would convince the she-devil to let go of his cheeks before she ripped them off.

"Huh!", the woman snorted and stretched his face so wide that he was now able to eat his newspaper horizontal in one go.

"Minato would even throw himself of a cliff if it was for the sake of the village! You know that as good as I do! But unfortunately it would break his neck, if you understand what I mean!"

The old Hokage wanted to nod but Kushina's hands were so tight on his face that it hurt enough without him moving.

"But that's what you love him for, isn't it?", he tried to convince the satan again and this time Kushina didn't punish him. She just sighted and let go of his cheeks.

They rebounded and Sarutobi rubbed his abused skin carefully.

"Ok, ok! I won't complain about it anymore! Well, for today."

Sarutobi had the creeping horrors.

"I'll tell him to come around for your oh-so-interesting mission", Kushina said and went over to the door.

"That you", the Hokage sighted. The worst was over.

"However", Kushina said and sent a death glare over her shoulder. "He won't come today and you won't bother us either. Today's a special day and I don't want to be disrupted."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot", the old man mumbled and tried to hide behind his paperwork.

"That's right", the woman cheered. "We'll have a party today and you are not invited!"

"Hm", the Hokage said, too scared to complain about it.

"I still have a lot of preparations to make!", she remembered and tore open the door. "I'll wake Minato up right now and then we'll go s.h.o.p.p.i.n.g!"

Kushina's stomach rumbled. "Well, that means, right after I had breakfast at Ichiraku's."

* * *

><p>When Naruto woke up he immediately realized that Minato was not home.<p>

Ever since they had returned from the city of gambling one and a half week ago, Minato had decided that Naruto was only allowed to stay in this flat if he would eat a "healthy" breakfast.

The blonde boy wasn't very keen on sleeping in one of the dark guestrooms in the Hokage tower or having to pay a hotel room either, so he had no other choice then eating fried vegetables every morning.

Naruto had tried to convince the older blonde that vegetables were just horrible and of course Minato, just like the good father he was, hadn't understood him at all. The thought that their first father-son argumemt had been about vegetables made Naruto still sad even one and a half week later.

But now he had the same opinion as Minato: Vegetables weren't as bad as he had thought at first, no, they were even worse.

Today there was no scent of coffee, vegetables or fried eggs in the air. Maybe Minato had gone out early in the morning and he had not returned yet?

Naruto smiled silently and slipped out of the bed to have the first ramen-breakfast since his return.

He tiptoed to the living room and opened the door as noiseless as he could. He looked around in the room but there wasn't a soul in sight. Minato was not home.

Naruto smiled and went to the kitchen to make a cup of ramen.

He breathed in the lovely scent of the soup as he sat down on the couch in the living room. Minato had always told him how much his fiance loved this couch and that she would skin him alive if someone would dirty it, but Naruto thought, since he was already breaking the rules by eating ramen, why not doing it probably?

Three cups later Naruto was in heaven. He wanted to stand up and bring the empty cups to the kitchen when he noticed a piece of paper on the dinner table in the living room.

It was a note from Minato:

_Naruto,_

_I'm sorry that I'm not at home for breakfast. Tsunade wants something from me. She says it's important._

_I'll be back soon. If you're hungry, vegetables are in the fridge._

_IF ANY OF KUSHINA'S INSTANT RAMEN ARE MISSING WHEN I COME HOME, YOU'LL HAVE VEGETABLES FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER THE NEXT TWO WEEKS!_

_Enjoy your meal! :)_

Naruto swallowed hard. _"God, I'm finished! Two weeks of vegetables! I'll die! Believe it!"_

_**"Just look at his handwriting. So neat. And that smiley. Like a girl's"**_, Kurama piped up and let out a long yawn.

_"You don't like my dad, do you?"_, Naruto asked the fox and crumpled the paper up in his fist.

_**"Of course not! He's the whole reason I have to deal with a idiot like you every day."**_

Naruto bit back a comment. He wanted to turn around and return to the kitchen in order to destroy any sign of his ramen-breakfast, but two pieces of paper that looked out of underneath the morning newspaper caught his attention.

He put down the empty ramen cups and pulled one the sheet out from underneath the pile.

He eyed it interested.

It was a seal.

_"That piece of paper ... that's one of the seals that is used for the Hokage-face of dad. It looks like the one that was on old man Sandaime's desk"_, Naruto thought and remembered the seals he saw when he had first met Sarutobi of this age.

_**"This one's not finished, though"**_, Kurama said and drew his host's attention to the unfinished lines and characters. _**"These things are anywhere, aren't they? That definitely means trouble." **_

_"Dad's drawing this?"_, Naruto wondered and eyed the seal closer. That could be Minato's handwriting, the characters looked like the one's on the note he had left, very neat and correct.

_**"This whole Hokage-thing is a mystery to me"**_, Kurama sighted and his voice let Naruto clearly know that the fox was everything else but happy.

_"The great demon is admitting defeat?"_, he snickered and put the seal back on the table.

_**"I'm saying that you should hurry and find out about these inconsistencies between the records in our era and what is really happening now"**_, Kurama grunted frustrated.

_"Don't panic, my fluffy fox!"_, Naruto tried to cheer him up and pulled the second piece of paper out from underneath the news paper. _"Everything will work out just fine but don't push me! I need time to ... Holy shit! What is that?"_

The second paper was completely black, only a few white characters and lines had been left out.

_**"Hm"**_, Kurama said thoughtfully. _**"It looks like a negative image to me."**_

_"A negative? So black, it looks depressing!"_, Naruto stated and held it against the sunlight that shone through the windows of the living room.

_"What's its purpose?"_

_**"The purpose of a negative?"**_

Naruto nodded.

_**"You know"**_, Kurama started and Naruto knew by the way he was talking what would be coming next. _**"Even if I would explain it to you ..." **_

_"You wouldn't understand it anyway ... blah, blah blah. Thank you very much"_, he hissed and regarded the seal.

_**"Ok, ok! The advantage of a negative is that you have a bigger exposure latitude."**_

_"I don't get it."_

_**"I told you so."**_

_"Hey, that looks like ..."_, Naruto mumbled and picked up the other seal from the table. He put the two sheets of paper on top of each other and held then against the light again. Tha papers were completely black, no characters to be seen anymore.

_"Hey, these are identical!"_, Naruto said joyfully over his discovery.

_**"So the one is the negative of the other"**_, Kurama stated. _**"A negative of a seal? What is it good for? I mean it's not a photograph."**_

_"No idea"_, Naruto cheered and put his arms down. _"And to tell you the truth, I'm not really interested in seals, either! Was never good at it."_

Tsunade had once tried to teach him a bit about seals because she believed that a future Hokage should be able to draw and read them. However, it had been a catastrophe and to Naruto's delight, Tsunade had given up on it.

_**"I figured that you woud say something like this"**_, Kurama sighted desperately. _**"But you should really try to ..."**_

_"Hush! Be quiet!"_, Naruto hissed and strained his ears.

He had heard something, no doubt. There, again.

It sounded like someone was scraping at the door. It clicked and the next thing Naruto heard was the front door that was hitting the wall with a loud noise.

"Minato-darling!", the voice of a woman screamed. "I'm baaaaaaack!"

Naruto flinched and hastily put the seals he had still in his hands back underneath the newspaper. He gripped the empty ramen cups that were standing on the table and rolled them underneath the couch just a split second the door to the living room opened and a shock of blood-red hair stormed into the room.

Naruto had suspected that he would meet her someday and he had thought that he would be prepared for it.

But now that she was standing in front of him, he knew that he wasn't. All he could do was standing next to the couch and stare at this woman with wide eyes.

Naruto's mother smiled at him and ger eyes were sparkling in the sunlight.

"Ku ... Kushina", Naruto said dumbfounded.

"Minato!", Kushina shouted and threw herself in Naruto's arms. The blonde boy lost his balance and fell with his back on the couch.

"Did you miss me?", his mother on top of him asked and hugged him tight. Her long red hair was tickling his face. It smelled like vanilla and something salty. Miso-ramen?

"Minato-darling! It's so good to be back! I was so lonely without you! Believe it!", Kushina screamed into his ear and kissed his forehead.

Wait! Did she just call him Minato?

Kushina pushed herself up on her elbows and looked down on her son's face with a bright smile. Naruto couldn't say anything, he just starred up to her. He was too surprised.

"Did I surprise you? You look so irritated!", she said and started laughing.

Naruto was silent. Then after a while he slowly nodded. His eyes were still wide in shock.

"Did you cut your hair?", Kushina asked interested and ruffled his short blonde locks. "It looks shorter then usual!"

Naruto said nothing.

Kushina looked down on him and then her wild laughter turned into a heart-warming smile.

"I missed you, my love", she whispered and took Naruto's face into her hands. She closed her eyes and moved closer to him.

Oh god! His mother was trying to kiss him!

Naruto flinched and his previous stiffness was gone.

He freed his hands from underneath his body and pushed Kushina by her shoulders, away from his face.

She opened her eyes and looked down on him confused.

"Darling?", she asked and caressed Naruto's cheeks. "What's wrong with you? You seem shocked. Is everything ok?"

Naruto opened his mouth to answer but nothing came to his mind, so he closed it again.

Kushina's expression had changed. She looked worried.

"Minato, these marks on your cheek", she asked and ans stroked her fingers over one of his whiskers. "Are these ... scars?"

Naruto flished at the the sudden pitch of her voice. He saw panic in his mother's eyes as she tilted his head to the side and leaned forward to regard the marks closer.

"No", Naruto started and tried to free himself from his mother's hands but she had a death grip on his jaw. "It's not like that ... I ..."

"Who was that?", Kushina growled with a low voice that gave Naruto goosebumps. "Who in this fucking world would be such an asshole and scar the handsome face of my beauty of a fiance? DOES HE HAVE A DEAD WISH?"

"It's ok", Naruto tried to calm her down and it worked.

Kushina's face immediately turned soft as she looked at the blonde underneath her.

"I'm sorry, darling", she mumbled and kissed his jaw lightly. "I promise I'll find them and beat them up for good."

"Uhm ...", Naruto tried again but Kushina put a finger on his lips to silent him.

"No need to worry, Minato", she said and the sweet smile returned to her face. "You look still as beautiful as ever. Yeah, these scars look cute on you, like whiskers."

And then she grabbed his face again and moved down to kiss him.

_"God, help me!"_, Naruto screamed in his mind and pressed his head deeper into the couch. _"It doesn't matter what kind of beauty she is! I don't want to loose my first kiss with a girl to my own mother!" _

The very moment their lips touched and Naruto thought that he would now be killed by his father, the bang of the front door let Kushina pause.

She pushed herself up from Naruto's body so that she was now sitting on his gut.

"NARUTO! I'M BACK!", a loud voice screamed and Naruto sighted relieved. Thank god! It was Minato.

Minato sprinted through the door of the living room and stopped in front of the couch. He looked exhausted and was breathing heavy like he had been running. His hair was messy and he wore his t-shirt backwards.

_**"Now it's getting interesting"**_, Kurama chuckled in Naruto's head.

It took some time for the blonde to understand those words.

Naruto was lying with his back on the couch, a red-haired woman was sitting on top his body, her hands were resting on his chest in a rather ... intimate way and the fiance of said woman was standing right in front of him.

He felt like the neighbor that was being caught by the husband in his wife's bed.

Naruto swallowed hard. That was certainly not a nice feeling.

Kushina looked confused. Her gaze wandered between the Minato underneath her lying on the couch and the heavy breathing Minato that was standing in front of her with sparkling eyes.

"I'm seeing double. There are two Minatos here", she stated soundless and pointed at Minato.

The blonde man blinked as looked at Kushina as if he had just realized that she was there.

"Oh, hey there, Kushina", he said and leaned forward to press a quick kiss on her hair.

Naruto held his breath and waited for the punch. But it didn't come.

Minato turned away from his confused fiance without another word and dropped to his knees next to the couch.

He leaned over Naruto and hugged him so tight that every little bit of air was pressed out of his lungs.

"Naruto! It's so fantastic!", Minato said and pulled Naruto closer to his chest. "I was meeting Tsunade right now and ..."

He was disruppted by Kushina's stuttering. "You are ... he is ... who is ..."

"Just one moment, darling", Minato said and looked at her face. "This is important."

Kushina's jaw dropped.

Naruto wasn't sure what to do. He felt like the neighbor who was caught in bed with a married woman by her husband who was walking into the room, pulling out some clothes of the wardrobe, making some vacuous comments about the weather and walking out of the room again.

Minato let go of the dumbfounded Naruto and brightly smiled at him.

"Like I said", he started again, showing his excitement very clearly. "I was with Tsunade just now. She threw me out of bed at three o'clock in the morning and told me that I should come to the abandoned laboratory of the hospital. When I arrived there she told me that she had always thought that the two of us were related because we look so similar. She has made a blood test in order to find out if we really were a family. And guess what she found out!"

Naruto just shrugged. A blood test? Oh god! Tsunade knew anything. If she had really made a blood test she knew that he was Minato's son.

"We have a accordance of about fifty percent! Naruto!", Minato smiled and his eyes started to water.

"You are my little brother!"

Naruto frowned. Brother. His little brother. Bullshit, he was not Minato's little brother. Did Tsunade make a mistake?

_**"Don't worry, kit, she didn't"**_, Kurama said calmly. _**"It you make an DNA analysis and you have an accordance of about fifty percent, the two persons are either parent and child or they are siblings. Well, it's a bit more complicated then that but all in all **__**that sums it up."**_

_"But ..."_

_**"For Tsunade it's only natural to assume that you are his little brother. You are way too old to be the Yondaime's kid so there's no need to worry."**_

A brother ... even if it wasn't true, Naruto felt somehow happy to see his father with tears of joy in his eyes.

He felt a single tear run down his own cheek. Naruto looked into Minato's eyes and returned his smile.

"We are brothers. We are family", Minato said softly and stroked Naruto's cheek trying to wipe of the tears that were still falling from Naruto's eyes and his own tears started to roll down his face.

"Wow, wow, wow!", Kushina said and reminded the two men that she was still there, too.

"Brothers? Well, you are Minato, my fiance", she said and pointed at the blonde man kneeling in front of the couch.

"And you", she continued slowly and pointed at Naruto. "Are his brother?"

Minato turned to Kushina and laughed, wiping the tears out of his eyes. "Yeah, Kushina!

He's my little brother. He's a Namikaze. Naruto Namikaze."

Kushina's eyes widened as she stared at her fiance's smiling face.

"A brother and a fiance. Kushina! I finally have a real family!", Minato cried happily and hugged Kushina around he shoulders.

She didn't answer. She just gaped at him in awe.

Minato stood up from the ground and wiped the last tears of his cheeks.

"How is it", he asked and smiled down on the two people on the couch. "Should we go to a cafe or restaurant and celebrate a bit?"

Neither Naruto nor Kushina answered.

Minato's smile disappeared slowly from his face and was replaced by an expression of disbelieve.

"Kushina. What are you doing there with my brother?"

* * *

><p><em>So, this was the ninth chapter.<em>

_I really like the character Kushina and I hope that I manage to make her appear more often._

_I have no idea how Kushina's sentence "dattebane" is translated correctly, so I will have to search. But that will take some time._

_For now I just wanted her to be similar to Naruto._

_I had no time to make any more characters appear in this chapter so they will in the next one._

_Hope you enjoyed reading. Please leave some reviews! :)_


	10. all at one table

_Here comes the next chapter._

_Thanks for all the nice reviews! I love you guys!_

_**I'm so sorry that it took three whole weeks for the next chapter. **I traveled to Australia for my homestay. New family, new school, new friends. And I had no internet for a whole week, which means no dictionary. So I couldn't write a single word for two whole weeks. _

_I made a little mistake about the DNA in the last chapter. The only thing I can say is that I'm really no expert in biology. Sorry. But since many other people have no clue about DNA either I hope that you can deal with it._

_This time I put a few more new characters in. Last chapter was for Kushina, but this one will have a bit more of action._

* * *

><p><strong>~ life is like drawing - just without a rubber ~<strong>

**~ chapter 10: All at one table ~**

"Stop fussing already!", Kushina complained as she walked into the living room and put a large pot on the table.

Minato sunk deeper into the couch and purposefully looked away from his fiance.

"I told you, it was an accident!", the woman with the fierce red hair continued and planted herself in front of her fiance, her arms on her hip. "A _blonde_ guy in _our _flat who looks nearly identical to _my _fiance ... You should be more understanding in this kind of situation, ya know!"

"Hn", Minato pouted and looked at her reproachfully. "My own girlfriend doesn't know what her boyfriend looks like."

"He could be your twin!", Kushina tried to defend herself but Minato dashed her argument.

"Just because of the blonde hair and blue eyes? If you would just look more closely you'll see that he looks very different from me!", he complained with a weepy voice. "I come home in the morning, hoping to meet my girlfriend after a long mission and all I see when I walk into my flat is her jumping my little brother!"

"Jump him? I didn't jump him!", Kushina desperately tried to explain. "It was more like a ... unintended misunderstanding! I told you nothing happened! I didn't even really touch him!"

"But you still did", Minato objected in low voice, pulled his legs up and rested his chin on top of his knees.

Kushina was about to reply angrily, but she closed her mouth again and walked off to the kitchen, shaking her head regretfully.

Minato was looking as if he was about to cry.

"Kushina's right. You are really making a fuss about it. Don't take everything so seriously." Naruto sat on the other edge of the couch. He had watched the little quarrel between his parents, with amusement, trying not to laugh out loud. He had never expected his father to be so sensitive.

Only a few hours had been enough for him to realize that the distribution of roles of this couple was the other way round.

Minato behaved like the jealous girl, and Kushina was a tomboy.

_**"I haven't met Kushina in a long time now"**_, Kurama informed his host, trying to restrain a laughter himself. _**"You may look like your father, kit, but just one look at her and I can see that the two of you are related. The same character, par for par, bar none."**_

_"Oh yeah? Which one would that be?"_

_**"Hasty, noisy and dumb."**_

_"Hah, hah. How funny"_, Naruto answered drily.

_**"Only the blonde part comes from your father"**_, Kurama chuckled lowly.

Naruto tried to ignore the fox' laughter. He had better things to do then letting himself being mocked by an animal.

Instead he concentrated on the sad figure in front of him.

Minato unfolded his arms and legs. With a sight he dropped his head on his 'brother's' lap, gripping the back of his orange shirt, hiding his face in the boy's stomach.

"My girlfriend doesn't love me anymore", he whined into the fabric. What a girl! How cliche!

Naruto rolled his eyes, but patted the blonde hair in his lap comfortingly.

"It really was just a misunderstanding", he said and stroked through blonde strands. "You trust Kushina, don't you?"

A moment of silence, then a slight nod.

"See? There's no need to get all worked up."

"Yeah, you are behaving like a baby", Kushina informed him as she walked into the room again and put another large pot on the table.

Minato's hands griped the back of Naruto's shirt tighter.

The boy sighted. Just when he had calmed the lovesick whiner down. His mother was definitely no sensitive creature.

Before she could ruin anything again, Naruto graped her arm, stood up from the couch and pushed her down on the free space. Then he placed Minato's head on the surprised woman's lap.

At first Minato hesitated, but then he graped the back of his fiance's clothes and buried his face in her stomach.

Kushina turned red, but she too stroked her finger's through her boyfriend's hair just like Naruto had done before.

"I love you", Minato mumbled into her apron and she blushed.

"So do I", she whispered embarrassed.

"But sometimes I hate you", he added and the blush on Kushina's face disappeared as fast as it had settled there. Instead it was replaced by an angry expression.

Yet she passed on without a comment.

"I like her", Naruto stated happily as he spotted the pot on the table that Kushina had just put down. He lifted the cooking top and looked inside. "Is that Miso-ramen?"

"You are as much of a ramen fan she is", Minato said and faced Naruto, his head still resting in Kushina's lap. "Are you really my little brother? Or are you hers?"

Naruto giggled.

"I always have wanted a little brother", Kushina said and smiled at the blonde boy. "What do you say Naruto?"

"Sure, why not? You ..."

"No! You can't!", Minato screamed and with one smooth and very fast movement he had lifted himself of Kushina's lap and wrapped his arms tightly around Naruto's shoulders, pressing the boy's face into his chest.

"You are my little brother! Mine! Forever! I won't let you leave!"

Naruto pressed his lips so hard together that they turned into a thin line.

Yeah, Minato's little brother. Forever.

At first when Naruto had heard it, he had been shocked.

Then he had been happy, happier than he could remember having ever been. He had a family, a real family!

But then, already known doubts had mixed more and more into his feelings of happiness. And he was asking himself if it wouldn't have been better if Tsunade hadn't done a blood test and his identity would have stayed a mystery forever.

The lumpy excuse he had had to come up with after his fight with the pufferfish ninja from Kirigakure, and all the suspective stares he had earned from his father and the Sandaime for it, he had made him more careful.

So he had made a decision. A decision he had never had wanted to make.

He and Kurama had decided on backing out and leaving the village if anyone found out what had really happened on that mission, if his identity was revealed. If anyone was getting too close to the truth.

Naruto hadn't approved of it at first. His family and his friends, he would never want to leave them behind. It didn't matter what Kurama tried to tell him, the fact that this was an era Naruto didn't belong to, the fact that he should not get involved with the people from the past, the fact that his family was long dead and would never return to him no matter how hard he wished for it ... it made no difference that he loved these people and wanted to stay by their side.

But then Kurama said something different, something that changed Naruto's mind.

The only thing that kept Naruto safe in this village, was the simple fact that noone did know who he was.

Why else would Madara use other shinobi to get hold of Naruto? Why else would try to lure him away from the village?

Why didn't he attack him directly? Why not right now or in his sleep?

Kurama had told him the answer.

Madara was scared. Scared of being found out himself.

Marada was the person who traveled to the past. And by accident he had took Naruto with him. He had come here the same way Madara did.

If Naruto's real identity was revealed, that would not only get him in trouble, but Madara, too.

With Naruto staying silent, he would not reveal information about the Uchiha either.

And that was why Madara had not tried to attack Naruto inside the village. That was the reason he used Tsunade and one of the seven swordsmen to capture him, far away from Konoha.

Madara was scared of giving information to the enemy.

He wouldn't attack Naruto right amongst the ninjas of Konoha and the Sandaime, because if he did, Naruto would tell them the truth about the Uchiha.

So if Naruto would keep the real story to himself, Konohagakure was his safe haven.

Naruto's opportunity to disappear in the crowd was his only protection.

However, if anyone would find out the truth about him, the silent agreement between him and Madara would have been broken.

And then Madara would no longer hesitate. He would try to capture Naruto before he would be able to let the Hokage know even more of the truth. And he would attack the village.

Madara Uchiha had once attacked Konohagakure and it had been a disaster. he had spread pain and death among the villagers. He had used the Kyuubi, Kurama himself, controlling him like some worthless puppet.

That was Naruto's main reason for the 'emergency plan'. He wouldn't let his friends get hurt anymore. Not if he could avert it.

So leaving the village was more then necessary, if he wasn't careful enough and let anybody find out the truth.

But now that was no longer possible. With the results of the blood test, Tsunade had destroyed Naruto's plan.

If he was to leave the village now, Minato would follow him. Before that Minato may would have given up on him and and just returned to his daily life without wasting even one more thought about Naruto.

But now Minato would never let him go again. He would follow him everywhere and bring him back at all costs.

His little brother.

The family he had never had and finally gained.

* * *

><p>"Congrats, Kushina-san!", Obito screamed and fell around her neck just a split second after he had entered the room.<p>

Naruto watched the scene from a chair at the large table .

The red-haired woman laughed happily and hugged the little Uchiha back. "Hey there, sweety!", she said and ruffled his black hair, pulling him closer to her chest. "I haven't seen you for quite a while! How have you been?"

"A lot happened!", Obito answered excited and pulled away from her. "There is Naruto, the old hag, this gambling city, a pufferfish ... no, even more fish and ..."

"You're talking nonsense", Kakashi disrupted him. He and Rin had followed Obito into the flat but in a more civilized way then the Uchiha.

Rin shyly greeted Naruto first, then she turned to Kushina and smiled a sweet little smile. "It's been two years now for you and Minato-sensei to be engaged. Congratulations, Kushina-san."

That made Naruto sit up. Two years of engagement. So that was the reason why Kushina had spent the whole day in the kitchen. She had cooked delicious food, mostly ramen, set the table with her best plates and digged up the old champagne glasses from the cupboards.

She had refused to tell him anything, too busy with preparing the dinner.

And Minato was still not very ... responsible either. He might had forgiven his fiance for jumping another man, but apparently that had still ruined his day. So there he sat, on the couch and philosophized about life and the trouble it implies.

"Heh, heh! Thank you little one!", Kushina giggled and patted the girl's head. Rin turned red, but smiled back.

"By the way", Obito said and looked around in the room, "Where is sensei?"

Kushina sighted. "Over there", she said and pointed at the couch.

Minato sat on top of it, with his arms hugging his legs and gazed into space.

Obito clapped his hands in excitement and walked over to the blonde man.

"Hey sensei! Congrats to you, too!", he said happily.

Minato didn't react. Obito frowned.

"Sensei?",he asked and waved his hand in front of the man's face. "Are you ok?"

Minato didn't answer. He still didn't look at his student. Then he sighted heavily.

"Two years, eh", he mumbled wistfully and pulled his legs closer to his chest. "One year after another. I'm growing older. Soon I'll be an old man with white hair who's no use to anybody."

Rin's and Kakashi's jaws dropped.

"What the hell is wrong with him?", Obito asked Kushina horrified and pointed at the blonde man who was now rocking himself slightly.

"Did you drug him or something?", Kakashi accused, yet his glare was not applying to Kushina but to Naruto.

"I didn't do anything", Naruto said sulkily and stared back at the gray-haired teen.

"Oh, don't mind him", Kushina sighted and pointed at her fiance. "He is just caught up in his thoughts. Just leave him a bit of time and he will be his old self."

Minato started to hum a childrens' song.

"So, you're now engaged for two years", Naruto asked Kushina, trying to break the awkward silence. "Why haven't you told me anything?"

"I was too busy. But hasn't Minato told you anything?", she asked a bit confused.

Naruto knit his brows and questioningly pointed at the man on the couch.

Kushina sighted. "Probably not."

She regarded her fiance for a while, but Minato ignored her.

"Yeah, it has been two years since I engaged myself with this sad guy", Kushina said and turned her attention back to Naruto. "I wanted to celebrate that with some friends but apparently he's not in the mood."

"The food looks yummy anyway!", Obito, who had sat down at the table, said happily and wanted to take something out of one of the pots.

"Hey, no nibbling here, ya know!", Kushina shouted and smacked his fingers away. "We'll only start eating when everyone is here!"

Obito pouted. Rin, who sat next to him, hid her face embarrassed and Kakashi, who had sat down next to Rin, wrinkled his nose.

"Hey, blonde storyteller", Kakashi hissed at Naruto across the table. "I'll find out what you did to sensei, you won't get away with it."

"I told you I didn't do anything", Naruto hissed back, but Kakashi continued to stare at him.

"Why you little... "

Then he decided that there was no use fighting with the chunin. Should he believe whatever he wanted.

"So, who else is coming?", Naruto asked his mother. Kushina opened her mouth to answer, but was disrupted by a person who walked through the door to the living room.

"We are, for example", Tsunade said and smiled at him. Shizune followed behind her, she carried a little pig in her arms.

"Oh, it's granny."

"Who are you calling a granny?"

"You. Who else?"

"Congrats", Tsunade turned to Kushina and hugged her. "Sorry for just walking inside, but the front door was open so I just let myself in."

"Tsunde!", the red-haired woman said surprised. "I thought you were not in Konoha! When have you come back? Why?"

Tsunade laughed. "Let's just say I had a bit of business here. I thought before I leave again I could come around and enjoy the party."

The pig squeaked approvingly.

"I reckon without you. I haven't got enough plates on the table", Kushina said and went of to the kitchen to get more dishes.

Shizune sat the pig down on the floor and went over to the table.

Kakashi smiled at her, or at least his eyes did, but she ignored him.

"Naruto!", the little girl piped and placed herself on the blonde boy's lap. She threw her arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his temple.

"I missed you", she whispered into his ear. "Did you miss me, too?"

"Get off me!", Naruto ordered and felt how Kakashi's stare burned his body.

Shizune pouted but climbed off his lap and sat down on the chair next to him.

Naruto tried his best to ignore the deadly stares from across the table and the amused chuckle in his mind.

"So, how does it feel like to be engaged for two years?", Tsunade asked the silent Minato on the couch.

The blonde man turned his head in her direction and stared at her for some time.

Then he answered melancholy. "Time's passing by so fast. Soon we will all be lying underneath cold soil, rotting to dust."

Tsunade looked at him and then her fist connected painfully with the top of his head.

Minato held his head and looked up to her with a startled expression on his face.

"This is no time for singing the blues!", she screamed angrily. "You have a wonderful family now! So get a hold of yourself!"

Tsunade gripped the blonde's ear and dragged him to the table, where she pushed Shizune of the chair next to Naruto and sat Minato down instead.

Minato eyed her disapprovingly and rubbed his ear, but didn't complain about it.

Shizune opened her mouth for an angry reply but one glare of Tsunade silenced her and she sat down on the chair next to Minato without another word.

Kakashi's cold stare sent spears into Naruto's chest.

The ringing of the doorbell made Naruto boggle. Kushina scurried out of the kitchen and placed some dishes on the table.

"Just stay put, I'm going", she said before someone else could stand up.

Her red shock of hair disappeared through the door. The lock clicked and the front door swinging open with a slight creaking was heard in the living room.

A scream shrilled from the corridor right into Naruto's ears, so loud and strident, that Obito, who had took advantage of Kushina's absence by ignoring Rin's look of reproach and gripping a bread bun from the next plate, with shock dropped his bread on his plate and choked on his food.

The screaming continued and Obito's turned bright red, obviously not able to breath probably.

"Girls", Minato mumbled head-shaking. He took pity on his student and rubbed Obito's back, who's facial colour had changed from red to an unhealthy green.

Naruto could hear the racket in the floor moving closer to the living room. Then the door open with a loud bang and plaster rilled off the wall.

Kushina stepped into the room, her arms thrown around another woman with black hair. They were screaming and yelling while they jumped around, pressed against each other in a close coudle.

A large man, also with black hair, followed behind them. He regarded the squeaking women with a stern look, trying to calm down the little child he hold in his arms, who sniffed into the man's jacket on the verge of tears.

Kushina and the other woman stopped jumping around in the room like little school girls and hugged each other tight before they separated at least.

"Hey, there! Everyone!", the woman said and smiled happily over to the table. The man also mumbled a greeting and rubbed the child's black hair, who clung to his clothes shyly.

The greetings were returned. Tsunade, Shizune and Rin waved at the three, while Minato stood up from the table, smiling brightly for the first time on that day since the little accident with his 'brother' and his fiance, and greeted the man with a firm hand shake.

Kakashi only nodded slightly in the newcomer's direction and then continued to read in his book.

Minato let go of the man's hand and returned to the table, the other one following him. He sat down on the chair across from Minato and placed the now brightly smiling child on his lap.

Then his gaze fell upon Obito. Naruto saw the boy's eyes widen, and he thought that for one moment he saw fear behind Obito's eyes. But it disappeared from his face so fast, that Naruto was not sure it it hadn't been just an optical illusion, caused by the lamp under the low ceiling.

Obito hinted a vaguely nod and hastily casted down his eyes, away from the man. The black-haired stranger let his gaze rest on the boy for a little while longer, no expression showing on his face, then looked away from him, all interest gone.

Naruto peeked at Obito and was shocked to see the sad expression on the boy's face.

The blonde eyed the man across from his father. He let his gaze wander over the black hair, that shimmered dark brown in the light, the high cheek bones and the sober eyes in the handsome face.

Naruto felt himself reminded of someone. It was as if he had seen this guy before, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember.

The child was still very young, nearly an infant. The little boy had also black hair and the same high cheekbones, but his face was softer and his eyes shone brightly.

The man noticed Naruto's intense look and for one moment he stared back into blue eyes.

His expression changed from casualness to wondrousness and he opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but Naruto narrowed his eyes to slits and teared his gaze away from the stranger, over to the woman who had now seated two chairs next to him.

She was talking to Kushina and didn't take notice of him, so that he could regard her himself, without having to worry about her staring back.

Her long dark black hair reached down to the middle of her back. Only a few strands fell over her shoulders and framed her face. Her expression was way kinder than the man's and there was something in her manner that Naruto believed to recognize, but he was not sure what it was.

Maybe he had met the two people in his era but didn't recognize them because they had changed.

But when his gaze fell upon the little boy who was placed on the man's lap, Naruto suddenly doubted it, without even knowing why.

The chair next to him moved and Naruto was pulled out of his thoughts.

Kushina let herself fall on the seat and uttered a long sight.

"Now that we're all here, we can start eating dinner", she cheered and pulled a large bowl over to herself, from which Naruto knew that it contained miso-ramen.

Obito didn't wait for her to tell him twice and immediately started to heap tons of food on his plate.

"Hey, what do you mean 'now that we are all here'?", Minato stated enraged. "Sensei's not here yet."

Naruto's heart skipped a beat. Jiraiya was coming over? Ero-senin was coming, too? After such a long time he'd be able to meet his sensei again.

"And he won't be coming anytime soon, either", Kushina said drily and pushed a little bowl with salad over to her fiance. "The public bath in just midway between his flat and our's. So the old pervert will be busy peeking on young women. He won't be here before midnight."

Naruto dropped his gaze to his plate and could hardly suppress the smile that spread on his face. Of course. What else could be more interesting to the old hermit then women?

Minato put his chopsticks back on his plate, crossed his arms in front of his chest and started pouting again.

"What's up with him?", the black-haired woman next to Kushina asked and regarded the blonde man worried. "I thought he was used to his old sensei being a pervert. So why is he acting like that?"

"Oh, don't mind him", Kushina said and rolled her eyes. "People might have thought that he is over it by now, but apparently he will blame me for the rest of the week."

The woman gave her a questioningly look and Kushina started explain.

"I came in here this morning. The princess was not at home. I mistook his brother for him and nearly kissed him. Nearly. But I didn't. Yet my fiance is obviously blaming it on me."

"Minato?", the woman said shocked. "Minato has a brother? You never told me!", she added accusingly in the blonde man's direction.

The stranger with the child on his lap didn't say anything, but regarded Naruto again with a weird expression on his face. Naruto didn't know what it was, but something in this look pissed him off, so he defied the stare with cold eyes.

Obito dropped his chopsticks and stared at Naruto.

"No, way! Naruto's your brother?", he asked dumbfounded and stared by turns at the blonde man and the blonde boy.

Minato's bad mood was gone and a bright smile settled on his face.

"Yeah, that's true", he laughed and put an arm around Naruto's shoulders, pulling him closer. "May I introduce someone to you, this is Naruto Namikaze, my little brother!"

"Hah! I knew it!", Obito screamed excited and jumped up from his chair. "I knew that he was your relative! I mean, he looks so much like you!"

Rin who had choked on her soup, recovered herself again and gave Minato a shy smile.

"It's nice that you have a family, sensei", she said softly. Minato laughed a little embarrassed.

Naruto felt something touch his arm and looked down.

Shizune leaned over to him so that she could cling to his arm. Minato, who sat on the chair between them, was unfortunately squashed in between the back of his chair and the girl's body.

"So you are a Namikaze", Shizune said sweetly and looked at Naruto with round eyes.

He wanted to reply angrily and tell her to get off him, but Minato just pushed the girl back to her seat so that he could move freely again.

Shizune regarded his upset, but didn't reply and turned her attention back to her plate, but not without winking at Naruto first.

The blonde turned away from her only to see Kakashi staring at him with an rather ugly expression on his face.

"I don't know how you are doing it", the chunin mumbled low-voiced so that only Naruto could hear him. "But I swear that I will find it out, you stupid little lair."

Naruto suppressed a laughter and reached out his hand to grab the bowl of miso-ramen.

But before he could touch it, his hand was grabbed and squeezed hard.

The black-haired woman smiled at him and shook his hand wildly.

"Hey there!", she cheered and her eyes glowed with excitement. "Nice to meet you, miniature edition of Minato. I'm Mikoto and that stern man over there", she pointed at the man with the little child in his lap, "is my husband."

The man nodded and offered Naruto his hand. His handshake was firm and Naruto could instantly tell that this man was not an easy man to deal with.

"Fugaku Uchiha", he introduced himself curtly. "And this is my son Itachi."

The little child smiled happily while he clung to his fathers clothes.

Naruto nearly dropped his jaw, but he forced himself to keep his mouth closed. It abruptly came to his mind, what was so familiar about their appearance.

These two people were Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, Sasuke's parents. He hadn't met them before, but recognized some their facial features in Sasuke's.

Naruto knew that Mikoto had been Kushina's friend, his mother had made a comment like that when she had told him about the night he was born. The night Kurama had attacked the village and both of his parents had died in order to protect him. The night he had become the Jinchuriki of the nine-tailed demon-fox.

But Naruto had never thought that he would meet them, not once since he had arrived in his era.

And that little infant on Fugaku's lap was Sasuke's elder brother.

Now that Naruto regarded him closer, he could recognize some of Itachi's features in the boy's face, the deep marks that began next to his nose and reached down to the middle of his cheeks.

"That's right", Kurama said sadly in Naruto's mind. "That boy will be that man, who, in order to protect the village, will kill his whole clan. His own parents, everyone. Except for his little brother. The same little brother who will, one day, be the end of his own life."

Naruto didn't answer. He could just stare at the little boy.

"The world is small, isn't it?", the fox stated drily, and then lapsed into silence.

Fugaku noticed Naruto's shocked expression and the blonde hastily turned his eyes away. That man didn't have to see his feelings.

"Nice to meat you", he said.

"So Itachi has turned three now, hasn't he?", Minato asked and patted the boy's black hair.

"Time flies."

Fugaku smiled down at his son and it was the first time that Naruto saw him with a friendly expression. And now he could imagine why the cheerful Mikoto had married such a gloomy man.

"Being father is fantastic", Fugaku stated and played with his son's little hands. "You can do anything you did as a child without feeling silly."

"Nonsense", Mikoto said and chewed on some rice. "I'm pretty sure your father didn't throw tennis balls at you when you were only three."

"Of course he did", Fugaku stated and ruffled Itachi's hair. "Otherwise I would be a weakling now, a good-for-nothing shinobi. My son has to grow up nice and strong, get his sharingan and then become a fine shinobi."

Naruto saw out of the corner of his eyes how Obito dropped his ashamed eyes and regarded his feet. Fugaku didn't pay attention to him.

"That's the job of a father, right?", he continued and looked at Minato questioningly.

Minato shrugged.

"No idea", he said truefully. "I never had a father. I don't even know if I was born in the village, but Konoha is my home since I can think. Until I was old enough to live by myself and rent a flat, I lived at an orphanage. Most of the kids were adopted very soon so I was always the oldest and the family who run the orphanage was always busy with the little childred. They had no time for me so I was always alone by myself. The only time I spent with my 'family' was at Chrismas and New Year's Eve, when all the little one's and already been sleeping in their beds. And so late at night the only potential father figure had already been dead drunk. No, actually he was always drunk, not only at gala days or late at night."

"That sounds so sad", Mikoto said compassionately and regarded Minato with big eyes.

Minato shook his head. "No, it wasn't that sad actually. It was quite funny", he answered with a slight smile.

"At New Year's Eve we always did lead pouring. Every year it was the same: His wife poured that stuff into his drink instead of the bowl with cold water every year. And every year he drunk it empty and ordered the next drink without ice."

Obito laughed cheerfully.

"He died because of a lead poisoning", Minato ended his story and took a sip of his sake.

Obito immediately stopped laughing and turned back to his food with sudden large interest.

"I really liked him. He was the nicest of the whole family", Minato continued and stared up at the ceiling dreamfully. "Not so long before I moved into my own flat, he was the only one who would go to my enrolment ceremony of the academy. Well,", he added thoughtfully, "that was probably because he was drunk. Do you still remember, Fugaku? That was the unbearable long speech of the Hokage, when he told all his new little soon-to-be shinobi about how a new part of our life was about to start, blah blah, and that we should be happy, blah blah, and so on."

"Yeah, I remember", Fugaku laughed. "I also remember seeing you the first time, next to that wobbly adult who told everyone who wanted to hear it, that the stage play had been really bad and that the leading actor with the funny hat had been horrible."

"He had probably misunderstood something", Minato answered with an embarrassed smile and rubbed the back of his head.

* * *

><p>The time went by. Kushina cleared away the the empty bowls and pots and placed the dessert on the table.<p>

Naruto had to admit that she was a good cook and that unfortunately he himself had not one bit of her talents.

Itachi now sat on Kushina's lap right next to Naruto and happily ate his pudding. Kushina strocked the child's hair and sighted.

"I want to get married and have children, too", she said and gave Minato a meaning look. He instantly turned away from her and reached out for his fourth fruit curd.

Kushina looked mad. Then she turned to Mikoto and asked her loudly, so that her fiance could clearly hear her: "How does it feel like to be just married?"

Minato leaned backwards and tried to hide from the mad stares of his fiance behind Naruto.

"Oh, it was fine, the whole wedding and stuff and I got someone to take care of Itachi for the first week", Mikoto explained and cubed her son's cheek. But then she turned serious.

"However, now that he's married, my dear husband checks out other women again."

"I'm married, not blind", Fugaku answered, earning mad stares from his wife.

Kushina lowered her voice so that the others on the table couldn't hear her anymore. But since Naruto was sitting right next to the two girls, he could understand their conversation.

"So what if he's checking out other women. At least he doesn't ignore you because of another man", Kushina whispered and Naruto immediately knew who she was referring to.

Apparently Mikoto could figure it out, too. She rolled her eyes and turned to her friend, with this knowing look on her face, that a girl always gets when she gives one of these immensely important advises about boys to another girl.

"Being a couple is something entirely different then a male bonding", she said in low voice and looked deep into Kushina's eyes. "At times like this the girlfriend is being ignored, that's natural. I remember the time Itachi was born. Fugaku had no interest for him. None at all. And he was complaining about how much time I spent on watching over my baby instead of hanging out with him. But then, as soon as Itachi was old enough to throw a ball, we were married and I had finally time for him, I was wrote off and Fugaku was constantly playing ball with his son. Day and night. Up to now."

Kushina's eyes widened. "What are you going to do? How do you get his interest back?"

Mikoto shrugged. "Don't know. Nothing I tried worked up to now. Well, some things that involve tight lace bras and very long nights do work, but that can't be a permanent solution, right?"

Her expression turned sad and her eyes started to water. "Damn, I was even in despair the one or another time. Oh, yeah, and just two days ago ..."

"Sh, sh, sh", Kushina tried to calm her friend down and rubbed her back in slow motions.

"Tell me what happened. I'm sure it's not that bad."

"Well, you see, I was at that bar the other day when Fugaku was out with Itachi", Mikoto started her explanation. "There I drank quite a lot and was getting depressed again. Late at night I came home, and suddenly I find myself sitting on the bed on top of my husband, with a large glass of vodka in one and a butcher knife in the other hand."

Kushina clapped her hands in front of her mouth and made large eyes.

"Then I pointed the knife at him and screamed that he should stop ignoring me, since we were now family."

"What did he do?", Kushina whispered excited and grabbed Mikoto's arm.

"Nothing", she said lowly. "He had had sleeping pills before."

Then she asked her husband with normal voice again: "Darling, have you found out were that large cut on your chest came from?"

"No idea", Fugaku answered and took a sip from his drink. "Maybe a fight ..."

Mikoto darted a knowing look at Kushina and turned back to her dessert. Naruto got goosebumbs.

Sasuke might have got his cold behaviour from his father, but he definately got his sardistic character from his mother.

"Well, that can't happen to me", Kushina said pleased to Mikoto, again whispering so that the others couldn't hear her. "Since Naruto is Minato's brother and not his son, everything will work out fine."

Mikoto regarded her quizzically. "Do you really think that your fiance will make a difference

between a son and a long lost brother?"

Kushina stopped stroking Itachi's hair. The little boy gave his empty bowl a sad look, then turned around in her lap and looked up to Kushina with pleading eyes.

"I've only made one for each of us", Kushina apologized and cubed his cheek.

Itachi made sad puppy eyes and Naruto could see on the expression on Kushina's face how her heart melted.

"Sorry, but I really don't have ...", she started again, but was disrupted by a bowl of pudding that Fugaku pushed over to his son.

"Here, you can have mine", he said and patted his sons hair.

Kushina looked wisely at Mikoto, she just shrugged and Itachi was happily eating pudding again.

Naruto smiled at the cute little boy and thought about how great of a mother Kushina would have been, the way she fed him, but suddenly a bowl of pudding was standing in front of him. He turned around and looked at a smiling Minato next to him.

"Do you want it?", his dad asked him.

He was about to say yes, but then he saw out of the corner of his eyes how Kushina tightened her grip on a large knife, that he could have sworn had been lying next to the cake just a second ago.

"I will never marry", Naruto heralded loudly and ignored the bluffed faces around the table.

"We'll see about that", Shizune hissed but Naruto ignored her.

In order to not being pierced by a knife, he placed the bowl with pudding in front of Itachi, who was happy to have more sweets.

Minato looked frustrated and opened his mouth to say something, but he was disrupted by the bell of the frontdoor.

"So the gentleman decides to join us for dessert", Kushina stated drily and stood up from her chair. She pushed little Itachi, who looked at her with large eyes in Mikoto's lap and threw her tissue on the table. Then she vanished through the door of the living room.

Naruto heard how she meddled with the lock of the front door and excitement was raising in his chest. The only one still missing was his dead sensei Jiraiya, so the one on the door could only be ...

When Kushina stepped into the room again, a large man with long white followed behind her, Naruto's heart felt like it wanted to jump out of his chest.

He had thought that from all the people he had the possibility to meat in this era, his father and mother were the ones he wanted to see the most.

But at this moment he realized that no matter how he wished for a real family, he could never miss something he had never had as much as something he had had and then lost again.

The day Tsunade had told him that Jiraiya had died on a mission had been the saddest day of his life. He missed the old pervert man, even more then he missed Sasuke. And for the first time of his life he had understood why his best friend had chosen revenge over his village and maybe if he hadn't seen what revenge could change a person into, he would have done the same.

Jiraiya looked younger then Naruto remembered him. His face was not as lined and the colour around his eyes was not as individuated. However, despite from that, Jiraiya hadn't changed much. His white hair was still long and spiky. He wore the same dumb sandals and the same odd forehead protector.

Naruto blinked hardly to stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks. Then he noticed that Jiraiya held a large bouquet of flowers. He had never seen his sensei holding flowers.

Somewhat bluffed he stared up to the man, past a moody Kushina who sat down on her chair again.

Jiraiya smiled brightly, greeting the people at the table with a brief hello and then turned to Minato, who happily looked up to him. He put the flowers on the table, reached out to his former student and squashed his face on his chest.

"My cute little Minato!", he screamed and pressed his students head closer to his chest. "Congrats! You are growing up!"

When he let go of Minato again, Naruto believed to see that the blonde's nose was a bit flatter then before. But his dad just seemed happy that his sensei finally had shown up in the end.

Kushina still seamed to hold his late arrivat against him, but when Jiraiya handed her the flowers, her face lit up with a slight smile. Jiraiya kissed her on the cheek and Kushina slapped him before she went to the kitchen to get a vase.

Naruto smiled, the old man's luck with women hadn't taken a turn to the better.

Jiraiya held his cheek and grinned at Minato.

"Make sure to keep her", he said and his eyes gleamed. "This woman is a humdinger!"

"Yeah, and she's mine, so keep your hands of pervert", Minato answered but returned the smile.

Jiraiya sat down on Kushina's chair and looked around. His eyes turned to Naruto. The boy reacted to his blaffed expression with a bright smile.

"You are late", Tsunade complained from the other end of the table.

"Yeah, I was busy with research", Jiraiya answered diffusely, not taking his eyes from Naruto's face.

"Research, my ass! You were peeping on naked women again!"

"Women are the purpose in life for a ... Holly shit! Tsunade! What are you doing here?",

Jiraiya had turned away from Naruto and realized exactly who he was talking to. His facial colour turned to a unhealthy shade of white and he automatically leaned back in his seat when Tsunade leaned forward, her face red with anger.

"I'm here to teach you some manners! You rather peep on some random women instead on joining the party of your former student! You low-life!"

"Why are you here?", Jiraiya asked meekly and Naruto found it hard not to start laughing, seeing the expression on his face.

"Unlike you I came here to support Minato and give him a family", she said, very proud on herself.

"Give him a family?", Jiraiya asked shocked. "You didn't ... !"

"No, you pervert! Of course I didn't!", Tsunade screamed embarrassed and slammed her hand on the table top. "I made some blood tests idiot!"

Mikoto chuckled into her tissue while Fugaku rolled his eyes.

"May I introduce you two to each other", Tsunade said and her eyebrow twiched threateningly. "This guy next to you is Naruto, Minato's little brother. Naruto, this pervert is called Jiraiya. He and I had the same sensei and were in the same genin team."

Jiraiya's eyes were as large as the one's of a frog, his brain seemed to be hyped up and his thoughts couldn't keep up with this conversation. He looked questioningly at Minato who smiled proudly and ruffled Naruto's hair.

"Oh man", Jiraiya said with weak voice. "I feel like I have just become a granddad."

Then he grapped Naruto and hugged him like he had done with Minato. Naruto's face was squashed at his chest and any protests were muffled by the hermit's clothes.

At first Narut struggled, but then he relaxed into the touch and grabbed the front of the green jacket lightly. Even if this Jiraiya was different from the one in his era, it was nice seeing his sensei again. A tear rolled down his cheek and vanished into the fabric, unnoticed by the others.

"That's amazing!", Jiraiya said excited when he let go of Naruto again. "We have to meat up sometime, Minato, you and me, just the three of us! As a family!"

A family. That sounded nice.

Minato nodded enthusiastically and Naruto noticed the look in his eyes. It was the same way he did look at Minato, like a son would look at his father.

"Sure", Naruto smiled back at Jiraiya. "What did you think about?"

The hermit stood up from his chair and went between the two blondes. He put his arms around one of their shoulders and smiled wily.

"There is this new bathing house in the village that opened up last week ... "

"Pervert!"

"Ero-senin!"

* * *

><p>The dinner had been fantastic for all of them.<p>

Everyone had achieved their goals.

Tsunade had succeeded to punish her old teammate. She had forced Jiraiya to drink many bottles of different spirits and therefore had punished him with no less then two whole days of headache.

Obito had put his shoulder to the wheel and so finally came closer to his one and only aim in life: Rin.

He had coquetted with her the whole evening and she had for a change refrained from ignoring him. However, Naruto deduced from her aggrieved expression that she had just been angry with Kakashi, who had read the whole evening, ignoring her completely. And the times this heartbreaker had looked up from his reading matter was only for staring holes into Shizune's and Naruto's back.

For Mikoto and Kushina the dinner had passed by successfully, too. They had giggled a lot and talked about men in general and boyfriends in particular. Naruto, who at first had been interested and followed the conversation, had quickly turned his attention to other things when Mikoto had started to describe Itachi's birth in detail.

Naruto had decided to keep the image of the Itachi he knew in his mind, the memories of a strong and brutal nukenin, instead of the image of an infant, clinging to the chest of his mother.

The familiy Uchiha had departed soon after that, mostly because Fugaku hadn't wanted the converstion of his wife to drop down into deeper chasms.

Tsunade and Shizune had also said goodbye so that only the three chunin stayed and helped cleaning up the dishes.

"Do you have a good excuse for just sitting around while all of us are working?", Obito asked angrily, wiping a plate with one of Kushina's flowery dishtowels.

Kakashi, who sat in one edge of the kitchen, nodded slightly and hide his face behind his book again.

"Oh yeah! Care to tell me?", the Uchiha said and dropped the dry plate on top of a large stack of clean plates. He flashed his eyes at Kakashi and wanted to scold a more, but was interrupted by Kushina, who stood at the sink and held another dripping wet plate in front of his face. He grabbed it. "So? I'm listening!"

Kakashi didn't even look at him when he answered. "My book could get wet."

Obito whirled around and threw the plate in his hand with full force. The white porcelain whooshed only millimeters past Kakashi's left ear and collided with the wall, where it shatterd into thousands of little shards. Kakashi didn't even flinch.

"You bastard! Why don't you just put it aside? The it won't get wet and ...", but the rest of Obito's sentence was replaced by a loud clonck, when the next wet plate from Kushina connected with his head.

Obito rubbed the sore spot on top of his head. For a moment he looked like he wanted to hit the now laughing Kakashi and only the angry eyes of Kushina seemed to stop him from doing so.

But when Rin entered the kitchen, a stack of dirty dishes in the arms, searching for the cause of the noise, he quickly turned away from the others and back to his work without another word. When Naruto placed the plates in the cupboard, he could spot the embarrassed shade of red that settled on his cheeks, that slowly turned into a very angry shade of red.

Jiraiya, who had followed behind Rin, let his eyes wander from Kakashi's slight smirk to Obito, who tortured the plates with his dishtowel. He noticed Naruto's meaningfull look and understood immediately.

With a bright smile he walked towards Kakashi. "So you are a friend of good literature", he asked the boy who looked up from his book. When Kakashi nodded confused, Jiraiya's hand shoot out and grabbed his arm. Jiraiya pulled the boy on his feet and dragged him out of the kitchen.

"I have a few books that might interest you", Naruto heard Jiraiya say before the kitchendoor closed behind a struggling Kakashi.

"What kind of books does he have?", Rin asked interested.

"Porn", Kushina and Naruto stated without looking up from their work and Rin immediately turned bright red.

"I wish he would just leave these books his writhing aside", Minato said and regarded the closed door. "The missions are already complicated enough, he doesn't need to palm further crap off on my student. We live in the times of war, Kakashi needs a clear mind if he wants to survive."

"Now that we're talking about it", Kushina started and turned around to face her fiance. "What mission did you guys went on? I thought that the Hokage didn't gave you one, so what was it about?"

Naruto tensed up. He had thought that this theme was over. The more they would talk about it, the less credible would his already weak excuse sound.

"Oh, we went on a search", Minato said and pulled out the bin from the cupboard under the sink. "You see, we are searching for Naruto's foster father and we had to find Tsunade to fix his chakra-flow."

Naruto hastily looked around in the room, searching for a way to take Kushina's mind off things.

His eyes fell upon Obito, who had stopped wiping plates and stared back at him with a funny stern expression.

Naruto felt sick.

"I'm bringing that outside", he quickly said and ripped the bin out of Minato's hand. he stormed out of the kitchen, saw Jiraiya and Kakashi sitting on the couch. Jiraiya opened his mouth but Naruto slammed the front door closed behind him before Jiraiya could say anything.

"What happened to the boy?", Jiraiya asked when he went back inside the kitchen, leaving Kakashi on the couch with a new book in his hands.

"That was strange", Kushina stated and regarded Minato, who looked not less confused.

"Maybe his foster father and that event is still a matter of delicacy", Minato said thoughtfully and scratched his nose. "Obito, where are you going?"

Obito didn't answer and followed Naruto into the living room, past Kakashi.

"What are you doing?", Rin asked worried and followed him out of the kitchen, but the Uchiha didn't answer and left the flat.

The front door clicked shut and Rin was left behind without another word.

* * *

><p>"He's gone, too", Rin said angrily. She sat down on the couch next to the reading Kakashi, who was caught in his own world of imagination,and fumed to herself.<p>

Minato smiled slightly as he watched his student from the kitchen. Appearantly she cared about Obito more then she liked to admit.

Minato tiptoed to the door and closed it gently, anxious to be as silent as possible. Rin might be a gentle girl most of the time, but she could be realy violent when she was angry.

"Affraid to have your head ripped off, huh?", Jiraiya asked and smirked at his former student.

"Kakashi's there to take care of it. He should learn to be more social", Minato stated impassively.

"In the end, it will be Obito anyway, who has to carry the can for it", Kushina said and put more dirty plates into the water in the sink.

A moment of silence followed, when only the rattling of porcelain could be heard.

Then Jiraiya talked again.

"Listen, Minato", he said and turned to his student with a serious face. "I have to talk to you."

Minato stopped working and looked at the hermit questioningly.

"The reason I came late to your party ..."

"Oh, come on!", Kushina said. "I know you have been watching women at the bathing house. Don't try to justify yourself now."

"No, that was not the reason", Jiraiya protested and immediately got a glare from Kushina.

"Ok, maybe one of them", Jiraiya admitted. "But not the main reason. You see Minato, I have been at the Hokage's office. He said that you should come see him tomorrow morning. He's got a really important mission for you."

Minato sighted. "Ah, I thought I would get to spend a few days with my fiance. Well, I can't do anything about it, can I?"

Jiraiya's reply was disrupted by a loud shattering noise. Kushina stand at the sink, a crushed plate in her hand and her face was full of anger.

"This old bastard!", she said and her eyebrows twitched. "He has promised me to leave us alone!"

"He said it's really important", Jiraiya replied. "He ordered that Minato and I take this mission together and team Minato will come along, too."

Kushina protested again, but Minato didn't pay attention to her. His face was dead serious.

"Fine. But I will take Naruto with me."

Jiraiya knitted his brows. "Does the Sandaime know the you two are relatives?"

"Not as far as I know, but I'm not sure if Tsunade has told him about it."

"My fiance is not going anywhere!", Kushina screamed angrily and this time Jiraiya didn't ignore her. When he turned his face, a small smile had settled on his lips.

"The Sandaime has suggested that you come along, too. You might be interested."

"Oh yeah?", Kushina answered coldly. "I told him I want some free time! He knows how I think about this whole misery. So why the hell would he think that I'll be interested?"

Jiraiya's answer was simple. "This time, there's a Jinchuriki involved."

* * *

><p>Naruto walked out of the apartment complex and threw the bin angrily on the a heap of rubbish.<p>

"At first there is this man who desperately wants to kill me and now it's my family who can't stop asking questions! That's hopefully just a bad joke!"

Then he stepped away from the doorway and raised his head to the black sky that was already sprinkled with stars. He breathed in fresh air.

_**"Calm down, kit. Just let the Yondaime tell Kushina about this whole mess when you're not there. How I remember her she will forget it soon, anyway."**_

It was the first time since this morning that the fox called attention to his presence. Kurama had kept silent the whole day, something that he hadn't done for a long time. Since Naruto had made friends with his biju, he had talked to him in his mind, long conversation that normally ended in confusion.

The fox had kept quiet for so long that Naruto had believed that he might have fallen asleep, but now that Kurama talked to him again, his voice was clear and firm as usual.

_"Aha! Here you are again!"_, Naruto replied angrily and stamped his foot. _"I thought you would be sleeping your beauty sleep. That's long overdue."_

_**"I was ... thinking."**_

_"And? what does that do for me?"_

_**"Oh come on!"**_, Kurama snarled. _**"Unlike you I'm trying to figure how to stay undercover instead of swearing my head off, now that our plan was ruined by your granny."**_

_"So?"_, Naruto asked coldly, trying to stay calm. _"Have you been successful?"_

_**"Not yet."**_

_"_"_

_**"Naruto?"**_

_"Huh?"_

_**"Why are you so angry?"**_

_"What do you mean?"_

_**"Normally you would just take the danger with a laugh on your face."**_

Naruto said nothing. Yeah, why was he so angry? Normally he wouldn't. So what was wrong with him today?

_"You know"_, he said hesitantly. _"Maybe ... when I was sitting at this table with all the other guys ... I noticed that, expect for Tsunade, Shizune, Kakashi and me ... all these people are already dead. And for at least two of them, it was Madara's fault that they died."_

_**"You forget that I was the one who killed your parents"**_, Kurama stated simply without any emotion in his voice.

_"Oh yeah?"_, Naruto asked testy. _"And who was the one controlling you? Who was the one who made you attack the village?"_

_**"When I killed your parents, I was long out of Madara's control. I killed your parents willingly."**_

Naruto was surprised. Of course he had known that deep in his heart, but it was the first time Kurama admitted the murderer of his parents.

_"Then let's take Itachi"_, Naruto said hastily, trying to change the subject. _"If you ask me I would blame Itachi's death on Madara. He was playing with his feelings like with some toy ... Like he still does with Sasuke's."_

_**"Do you really think that Itachi was that weak? That he would let himself being played by Madara?"**_

_"Well, I ..."_

_**"Don't you worry about that, kit. Itachi was strong and smart. A person to read his opponent's soul with just one look. If you ask me, Itachi was the first person who ****was ever** **able to use Madara for his own goals."**_

Naruto closed his eyes. _"He's evil"_, he thought. _"Madara is the pure devil."_

_**"That may be true, kit"**_, Kurama stated. _**"But he's not the only evil in this world."**_

A moment of silence followed, and Naruto could feel that the fox was 'watching' him.

_**"That doesn't explain why you are so angry, kit"**_, Kurama said. _**"Tell me the real reason."**_

Naruto thought about it, trying to find the right words. _"Like I said they are all dead", he finally started carefully. "And when we were sitting there ... all at one table ... Why do I have to keep my identity a secret? Why can't I tell them the truth? You said that it's all for their protection but ..."_

_**"Even if you keep them safe by keeping the truth, they'll die anyway, without you being able to do anything against it"**_, Kurama ended the sentence for him.

Naruto nodded. Now that he had finally told the fox about it he felt like a weight had lifted from his heart. He calmed down from his fury. But he could still feel the sadness he had tried to surpress the whole time. And now that his anger was gone,l the sadness was stronger then before, filling his heart.

_"What is the point of keeping all that to myself and lying to them if in the end it won't help them?"_

_**"I can't give you an answer to that"**_, Kurama stated but his voice showed no sadness. It was firm and intense. _**"The only thing I can tell you is that people die. It's a inevitable fact of life. You are strong, Naruto. Even if it hurts you, you've long understood that you'll have to let them go, sooner or later. You have accepted it. You always had."**_

_"That's not true"_, Naruto mumbled. _"Now that I'm in the past ... now that they are all in front of my eyes ... I'm always thinking about changing the past ... and prevent their deaths somehow. I can't accept the fact that they will all die."_

_**"That is what it means to be human. But deep in your heart, you've already let them go. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to smile when you look into their faces."**_

Naruto stayed silent. He knew that Kurama was right.

_**"So your job now is to keep them safe at the moment. And maybe one day ... you might be able to safe them."**_

Naruto's heart thumped in his chest. If he was able to safe them from Madara know and keep the truth hidden, then maybe he would be able to safe them again.

He looked up to the stars in the black sky, and the smile returned to his lips.

"Yeah, that's true", he said out loud. "I'm feeling better now."

"That's good", a voice behind him said coldly and Naruto frowned.

Slowly he turned his head.

Obito was standing in the doorway of the building, his arms crossed over his chest, his figure hidden by the shaddow.

Naruto panicked. How long had he been standing there? How much had he heard?

But then he calmed down again. Nothing to worry about. The conversations in his mind could only be heard by Kurama and Naruto himself, so there was now way Obito had actually heard something or eavesdropped on them.

Still, something in the Uchiha's gaze made Naruto feel nervous.

"What are you doing outside?", Naruto asked and tried to smile as if nothing was wrong.

"Just felt like it." Obito's answer was short, his voice cold. he stepped out of the shadow.

He didn't look at Naruto, not even when he was right next to him, and stared up to the stars instead.

Naruto watched him from the side, the cold eyes, the blank face. And the panic returned.

"Well, I'm cold now so I'm going back inside", he said nervously and turded away from him, walking back to the bilding, trying not to run.

"You did a good job back there on our mission. I mean, in the beginning you were a bit lame, getting beaten up and stuff, but in the end you knocked that guy out with just one single jutsu. he was one of the legendary seven swordsmen right?"

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. His heart beat faster, blood rushed through his veins. Panic shot through his body.

When he talked his voice was surprisingly calm, not even one tremble in it. "Yeah, Tsunade did an amazing job back there."

"I didn't say Tsunade. I said you."

Naruto laughed. "Oh come on, you believe that I did it? I told you it was Tsunade."

"That was what you _told_ us", Obito corrected him. "Don't lie to me, it's no use. I have seen it."

Naruto slowly turned around, his eyes widened in horror.

Obito stood in the night. The moonlight shone on his blank face, his cold eyes.

"What?", Naruto asked and this time his voice was low with horror.

"That's right, _Naruto Namikaze_. I have seen everything. Every single detail."

* * *

><p><em>So far for now.<em>

_Since I don't know anything about Minato's past I made up something._

_I hope you liked it. Please review :)_


	11. Monster

_Hey guys! I'm back!_

_I wanted to that you for all the nice reviews! You guys rock! Every single one of you who wastes his or her time reading this story is awesome!_

_So I have to apologize. **I'M SO SORRY FOR THE 3-WEEK BREAK!**_

_I wasn't really motivated to write and actually thought of dropping the story. I had no ideas and my head was just empty. It wasn't fun at all._

_But then something incredible happened. __**Jaechim**__**Corweare Dilanos**__ wrote me a review. Well, the review itself was rather embarrassing and I was kinda angry, but it helped me to finally sit down and correct the mistakes of the previous chapters. I should have done that sooner! I'm so sorry that I didn't listen to all the others who told me that before! :(_

_So I used all my breaks in school to correct my story and man, some of these spelling errors are embarrassing! It took me a whole week!_

_So my second decision, I need a beta reader!_

_You may have already realized that I am a rather lazy person._

_That's why I'm asking directly: __**If there is any beat reader reading this and liking my story an having enough time to help an amateur, I would appreciate if you would help me making my story even better! I need any help I can get! Thank you ! :)**_

_Then there's another thing: I already said that I thought about dropping the story (don't worry too much, I'm over it), so this chapter has a rather dark theme. For all the people searching comedy and humor, I'm sorry! Next time._

_Actually I wanted to write something different, but when I finally had myself sitting down on my damn desk and writing, I just wrote whatever came into my mind._

_So that's what I came up with. Enjoy reading :)_

* * *

><p><strong>~ life is like drawing - just without a rubber ~<strong>

**~ Chapter 11: Monster ~**

"Life gards?"

"Yeah."

"That guy, Mr. X or whatever, needs life gards?"

"Yeah."

"He wants to leave the country and travel back to his hometown?"

"Yeah."

"So Mr. X needs life gards in order to avoid being held up by bandits and stuff?"

"Yeah."

"That is an B-Rang mission?"

"Yeah."

"A B-RANG MISSION? YOU OLD BASTARD! YOU LET US TROT UP HERE TO TELL US ABOUT ONE FUCKING B-RANG MISSION? EVERYBODY COULD DO THAT JOB! SO WHY THE HELL DO YOU NEED TO PICK US?", Kushina barked at the old man in front of her and slammed her hands on the desk.

Naruto was pretty sure, if it hadn't been for that desk to separate her from the man,

Kushina would have already tried to rip the Hokage's head off.

"Minato's the best man for that mission, so why do you have to scream at me so early in the morning?", Sarutobi asked and covered his ears.

The red-haired woman in front of him murdered him with her eyes.

In all the stories Naruto had read his entire life, though it weren't many, the devil had always been discribed as a man with a goatbeard, horns and a trident in his hand, who sat inside his personal bush fire he called hell, far away from the peaceful little piece of land called earth.

Not once had he been afraid from the devil, not like all the other kids who hid under their blankets or crawling into their parents bed at night.

He had wondered why he had never cared. But Naruto had soon come to the conclusion that it was simply the fact that he had no parents who would tell him he would go to hell if he did something bad, that protected him from his fear from the devil.

Or so he had thought. Now he knew he had been wrong.

He had been wrong about the fact that the devil lived in hell. Since the devil walked on earth.

He had been wrong about the fact that the devil had horns. Why would he need them anyway, that hair was enough.

He had been wrong about the fact that the devil was a guy. Since she was a woman.

He had been wrong about the reason he had never been scared. He had never feared the devil in the books, because he was the real devil's child.

And maybe that was a little bit frightening.

Kushina nailed the Hokage down in his chair by simply blinking at him. Only one swing of her angry red hair was enough to let him wish that he had never been born. Only clenching one of her fists was enough to let him wish that _she_ had never been born.

Kushina controlled everybody around her simply with her very presence.

Obito and Rin ducked, awaiting the explosion that was definitely soon to come. Jiraiya cowered behind Minato and even the always callous Kakashi obviously felt the pressure.

Only Minato himself seemed to be uneffected by his fiance's terror. He stood in the middle of the room and bordly watched the Hokage-mountain through the windows.

Naruto himself was frozen.

The whole office suddenly seemed too hot to move or even breath. His mother seemed to have enlightened hell itself in the Hokage's office.

Being her child or not, that woman was scary.

Sarutobi seemed to be of the same opinion.

He hastily opened a drawer of his desk and pulled out a very old map. He layed it in front of Kushina.

"See? That is the route Mr Frost must take to go back to his hometown", he explained. "As you can see it goes right through enemy turf. So I thought that Minato is the best man for the job."

"Because you fear an attack of the enemy?"

"Right", stated the Hokage, obviously glad that he had made himself clear.

"Then why do we need to take Jiraiya along?", Kakashi joined the conversation and pointed at the hermit, hiding behind his former student. "That pervert is nothing but an embarrassment."

The Hokage sighted. "Well, you see, there is that new bathhouse in Konoha that opened up last week and we hope to earn a lot of money with it. So I would be very delighted if Jiraiya wasn't around."

Jiraiya appeared from behind Minato and opened his mouth for an angry response, noticed Kushina's stare and quickly hid behind Minato's back again.

The red-haired woman let her eyes wander, from Jiraiya or rather the white mob of hair that was still visible from behind Minato's back, to Minato himself, who regarded her with a bored expression as if to say 'get over it already', to the Hokage who had the sudden and desperate wish to hop into a hole and never coming back to the sunlight.

Naruto, who still couldn't do nothing but gaping for air, was next, then Kakashi who froze in his movements, his book midway between his pocket and his face.

Finally a shaking Rin and a pale Obito, before Kushina's eyes rested on the map on the desk in front of her again.

She sighted deeply, but shoved the map over to the Hokage, contracting into deferring the end of the world to another day.

The Hokage relaxed, Jiraiya appeared from behind his students back, Naruto gaped for air, Obito's face became more colorful again, Rin stopped shivering, Kakashi was reading in his book again and Minato stared out of the window, being very happy with the world around him.

Everything was back to what it should be. The natural disaster had been prevented and the brave warriors returned to their daily lives again.

That was until Kushina thought of another thing she could complain about.

"Why do I have to come along?", she asked. "Minato and the pervert should be enough for a B-rang mission, so why me, too?"

"Well", Sarutobi said uneasily. "A jinchuriki seems to be interested in Mr Frost, so I thought you might be interested as well."

Naruto frowned. A jinchuriki? Interested in the client? That was certainly an unique mission.

Naruto regarded the rest of the group out of the corner of his eyes. Neither Minato nor Jiraiya seemed to be confused. Normally an announcement like this would cause excitement. Jet they didn't show any kind of interest in the case.

"Well, I'm not", she stated, her voice still firm, but her face a lot more propitiative then before.

The Hokage, encouraged by the fact that she hadn't started screaming again, continued. "You see, a jinchuriki is targeting our client, so I want you to be there, too. Jinchuriki are dangerous creatures and hard to deal with. Nobody knows a jinchuriki as well as you do, since you are one yourself."

Kushina's eyebrows twitched, hearing the unintended insult, but decided to ignore it.

"So you really are a jinchuriki", Rin whispered and her eyes widened until they had reached the size of plates. Even Kakashi eyed Kushina interested over the rim of his book.

"Hn", she answered and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Uhm ...", Obito started lowly. All eyes turned to him and his face blushed in an embarrassed shade of red. "What is a jinchuriki?"

"You idiot!", Kakashi mumbled and hid behind his book again, all interest for Obito far beneath his dignity.

"Bastard", Obito mumbled through clenched teeth.

"A jinchuriki", the Hokage started and rested his head on top of his open palms. "That's the name for a person, who hosts a biju inside his body."

_"Who is forced to, you mean"_, Naruto thought bitterly.

_**"You make it sound like it is a bad thing to have me inside you"**_, Kurama noticed with a feigned offended voice.

_"It's not that it is a bad thing. It's just that you really did cause a lot of trouble for me and I would feel a lot better if I had actually had a choice." _

"The first jinchuriki was he first ninja himself, Rikudo Sennin", the Hokage continued and Naruto turned his attention back to the conversation.

After last night, he wanted to avoid any kind of situation that would draw someone's attention, even if it was just the fact that he hadn't listened close enough.

" Rikudo Sennin sealed the Jubi, the ten-tailed chakra-beast which sought the destruction of the world, inside himself. Later, when he could no longer host the beast, he separated it's chakra into nine parts and formed nine tailed beasts. The nine biju. They exist up to today."

_"Yeah, and he gave each one of them a name, right? Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, San Goko, Kokuo, Saiken, Chomei, Gyuki and you, Kurama."_

_**"Not bad kit, but it's not 'San Goko', it's Son Goku. That oversized monkey! He would be really mad if he had heard that his proud name was wrongly pronounced by a mere human."**_

_"Don't tell him, ok?"_

"Since these beasts are all very powerful, they were sealed inside shinobi again. Ever village has it's own jinchuriki. They are very powerful creatures, so we always try to keep the tremendous power of the bijus at balance. The more tails a biju processes, the more chakra it has."

"Wow", Obito said in awe after the Hokages explanation and stared at Kushina. "Then you are one of them? Which one?"

Kushina couldn't suppress a cheeky grin. "I am the Kyuubi's host. That large fox-demon with the nine tails, ya know? It is the strongest biju existing."

Naruto blinked. That was right, he had almost forgotten. Kushina had been the host of the nine-tailed fox before she died and sealed it inside her son. He had thought about their relationship a lot, but Kurama wasn't a very talk active guy at that point, so most of it was left for Naruto to imagine. For the fox it was past, a past that he didn't like to talk about. A past he wanted to leave behind.

Naruto stumbled in his stream of thoughts. _A past he wanted to leave behind._

But here it wasn't past.

In this era Kushina wasn't dead and Naruto was alive, too. Did that mean that there existed two demon foxes at this very moment? Two Kuramas?

Kushina was already talking again. "The first host of the Kyuubi was a woman from my clan, she was the wife of the Hokage. When she grew too old to host the fox, I became the next 'container'."

Obito's eyes blinked. "Kyuubi? Nine-tailed? So you are the strongest of them, the jinchuriki I mean, right?"

"The one with the strongest biju", Kushina said, but frowned. "The strongest host? Well, I'm strong. I'm amazing. But the strongest _host_? As a jinchuriki I suck, actually."

"No no no, that can't be!", Obito uttered and shook his head wildly. "I mean, the strongest biju, Kyuubi! Hundreds of people must have been like mad to become the jinchuriki of it! And you were the chosen one! You must be special!"

Kushina smiled sadly. "Believe me", she said. "There aren't many people who want to become a jinchuriki. Actually, all the one's I've met haven't chosen their fate out of their own will. Most of them are being forced to host a biju."

"Why would that be? Everybody wants power!", Obito exclaimed.

"The biju have always been a danger to human life", Kushina answered. "Everywhere they show up, they bring terror and distruction. They are said to bring misfortune. Now imagine how a jinchuriki is treated when he carries that monster of death inside his body."

Obito dropped his gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry", he mumbled.

"Don't be. It's not that bad."

_**"Such a lovely woman"**_, Kurama stated bitterly. _**"She doesn't only refer to me a thing, but also as a monster of misfortune. She must really hate me."**_

Even though the fox would probably never admit it, Naruto could hear the disapointment in his voice. Maybe even now, Kurama wished that he and his previous hosts had had a better relationship.

_"Well, I don't hate you", _Naruto pouted. _"I actually like you quite a lot."_

_**"Thanks for trying to cheer me up, kit."**_

_"What? Isn't that good enough?"_

_**"Well ... you are an idiot"**_, Kurama stated simply.

Naruto snorted.

_**"On the other hand, Kushina was an idiot, too, soo .."**_

_"Stop badmouthing my family!"_

"It's not that bad being a jinchuriki actually", Kushina continued. "The advantage of a jinchuriki is that said person has an incredible large amount of chakra. That's why they are often used as weapons. When a jinchuriki can control his biju, he gets amazingly strong, can even transform into the beast."

"That means you can't", Obito asked disappointed.

"Well, you see ...", Kushina started, but was disrupted by Kakashi, who had lowered his book.

"Why would they seal a biju inside a woman? That's a man's job, isn't it?", he stated, arrogantly regarding the red-haired in front of him.

"Don't underestimate the Uzumaki-women", Kushina said with a low voice and the dangerous gleam was back in her eyes. "We are proud and strong. I could take Minato out with just one hit, if I wanted to."

"Yeah, because he has fallen for you, so he would do anything: jumping in front of a train, headstand while cackling like a chicken or accepting two black eyes as a decoration",

Naruto muttered under his breath.

"I'm a woman after all, so I have the weapons of a woman, too, so why shouldn't I use them?", Kushina stated proudly. "Isn't that the thing that makes us women stronger then you men? We can control you completely."

"Maybe you should mention that that also works the other way round", Naruto said. The image of a shy black-haired girl with pail eyes, who was hiding halfway behind a tree popped up in his mind.

" You shouldn't look down on women Kakashi, it will come back to you and you will stay a sad virgin for the rest of your life."

Kakashi shrugged and returned to his book.

"So that means you can't use the Kyuubi's powers", Obito pouted again.

"That's a good thing, ya know", Kushina smiled. "The risk is very high. Biju's are very smart and they will do anything to escape their hosts. Some hosts lost their control and died. If I don't make a deal with my biju, I can't loose."

"So you can't use the power of the greatest beast that walks on earth", the Uchiha muttered.

"Hey, I'm proud of that!", Kushina said sulkily. "No matter how much that damn fox tried to convince me, I never gave in! I was strong enough by myself! I never needed its help!"

"It talks to you?", Obito asked, excited again. His sudden change of emotions was scary.

_"So you've done the same shit with her, like you've tried with me, right?" _

Kushina scratched her head. "Well, I suppose. There is this dark room where it sits behind these bars."

"You've met it? How does it look like?"

Kushina thought about it for a while. "Big ... and orange."

_"And fluffy."_

_**"Shut up, kit!"**_

"Some details, please", Obito said eagerly. "Its eyes? Its voice?"

"Red eyes, kinda like the one's of a cat. A low voice, more like a snarling. Always grinning devilish, ya know. Kinda scary."

Naruto snickered when he heard Kurama growling in his mind.

"So you are really not using any of the Kyuubi's chakra?", he asked, eager to join the conversation.

Kushina smiled. "No need for that", she said with sparkling eyes. "I don't need his chakra. I have my own techniques."

* * *

><p>Naruto chewed a bite of his dinner. He gulped it down and twisted his face from the bad taste in his mouth.<p>

Minato, who sat next to him didn't seem to be any happier. His expression was firm, his eyes narrowed to slits. Naruto watched his eyebrows twitching. Up and down, up and down. The Yondaime hadn't spoken a single word more that necessary since they had arrived at the hotel. If you could even call it a hotel. To Naruto, it seemed more like a little dark house, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, only able to hold its title because there was no other place to sleep anywhere near.

The food was bad. The eggs had been cooked for too long and were now as hard as a rock. The rice was watery and tasted like nothing and Naruto didn't even dare to touch the milky green liquid these bastards served as soya sauce. Of course there was no ramen on the menu.

The conversations around the table had soon died down, while everyone tried to force as many of this sad excuse of food down their throats. Kakashi hadn't even bothered touching it, even though Kushina had told him that he would not want to walk into enemy turf with a empty stomach. But Kakashi had the opinion that that was the better option. So now he was sitting on one edge of the table and reading one of the porn he had got from Jiraiya. In

public.

Kushina had punched Jiraiya for this. Jet he was still proud.

The only person at the table who dared to speak a word was the client. And Naruto would have preferred it if he had just kept quiet like the rest of the group.

The client was an old man, around the age of seventy. He wasn't very high and had hardly any hair on his head. Even though they all knew this fact, the client seemed to prefer keeping his ridiculous yellow hat on his head. Naruto was certain that Mr Frost was missing something very different under this hut, not just his hair.

That man was unbearable. Even Minato, who was good with other people, had lost all his friendly behavior in just ten minutes.

The man had introduced himself as Mr Frost and insisted on being called exactly that. No first name. He was unfriendly, always complaining about everything. Whether it was that the hotel was bad, he had seen a rat in his wardrobe, the water was too cold or the sky just didn't have the right color.

Naruto hated him. But since he was the only one without a forehead-protector of Konoha, Frostbite had chosen him to be his personal servant, being responsible for everything that went wrong and the only one _good enough_ to carry his tons of luggage.

Naruto tried with might and main to keep calm and not to finish the whole mission right there and then by crashing Frostbite with his own personal library in one of the suitcases.

The fact that Kurama seemed to like Frostbite just as much as him didn't make it easier for Naruto. Not that he could blame him, but the constant fury of the fox made Naruto nervous and distracted. Sometimes Kurama growled so loud in his mind that he was no longer able to hear what was going on around him. Frostbite would kick him for this.

This whole mission was a catastrophe.

While Naruto was still lost in his thoughts, Frostbite had obviously said something that didn't match Kurama's wishes.

A wave of hatred rushed through Naruto's mind, who flinched and dropped his chopsticks on the plate.

_"Would you mind stopping that?"_, he asked the fox angrily and picked the chopsticks up.

_"It's bad enough as it is, you don't have to make it worse!"_

_**"Excuse me for having feelings!"**_, Kurama hissed and twisted his tails in anger. _**"Just in case you didn't notice it, that bastard called you a looser right now, but I'm sorry for defending you! It won't happen again!"**_

_"Ok, ok! Don't get all bitchy."_

_**"I can't blame that guy who is after this Frostbite. I would like to know their names so that I can send them some flowers"**_, Kurama stated. _**"If I could, I would kill this son of a bitch right here. We have enough problems right now, we don't need another one."**_

_"If you are talking about Obito ..."_, Naruto started, but was disrupted.

_**"No, I'm not just talking about Obito. I admit that he is one of the problems but we have a lot more to think about."**_

Naruto frowned. _"What do you mean?"_, he asked distrustfully. _"Isn't that enough already? What else makes you worried."_

_**"For example your chakra, kit."**_

Naruto laughed. _"But that's all back to normal", he snickered. "No need to be worried. It's not like when we fought against the pufferfish. I can defend myself properly now. We won't get attacked."_

_**"You don't get it do you?"**_**,** Kurama said. _**"Before that fight you were all wobbly and weak. And then all of a sudden after the sword bit you, you are perfectly normal again. I want to know why!"**_

_"What are you saying? It was baa-chan's operation, of course. What else could it have been?"_

_**"So you are telling me that the operation was a success."**_

Naruto frowned. _"What else could it have been? So you are trying to tell me that ..."_

_**"Exactly. I'm saying that it didn't work the way we hoped it would. You probably only survived because I saved you. Something went wrong that day. What exactly? I don't know. I don't know if it really matters either. But one thing I'm sure of is that your chakra is not the same as it was before."**_

Naruto kept silent after that explanation. He hadn't thought about it that way yet. Interesting. But still ...

_"How can you be so sure? The effects of the operation could have just been a bit delayed. Maybe it was coincidence that they kicked in when i was bitten."_

_**"And then a sword that is famous for absorbing any kind of chakra just drops to the ground like dead?"**_, Kurama snorted. _**"That's very unlikely, kit. But what is convincing me of my theory the most is that blue liquid that flew out of your injury after that bite."**_

"That blue stuff? I wouldn't worry about it too much."

_**"Well, I do"**_, Kurama stated simply.

Naruto snorted and turned back to the food left on his plate.

A few minutes pasted before the fox started talking again.

_**"Another thing that worries me is this mission"**_, he grunted. _**"This whole jinchuriki-business is freaking me out."**_

_"That doesn't surprise me"_, Naruto snickered. _"But I'm more interested in who of the other jinchuriki will be out opponent, then worrying about it."_

_**"Jinchuriki are dangerous creatures."**_

_"May be true, but we are still human. And biju have feelings, too. You are the living prove." _

_**"Hn."**_

Naruto used the silence of the fox to state his own opinion.

_"It's just a normal mission. I understand that you are angry. I don't like Frostbite either. But deal with it. That's a ninja's job."_

_**"If this is just a normal run of the mill mission, why are there three jounin here?"**_, Kurama complained. _**"It's just B-rang, one jounin would have been enough."**_

Naruto frowned. _"Good point, fluffy friend"_, he said.

_**"That's not all"**_, Kurama started enthusiastically, now that he had finally had Naruto listen to him. _**"The Yondaime didn't ask why a jinchuriki was after Frostbite. Neither Kushina nor Jiraiya did either. Wouldn't a normal person what to get as many information on a mission as possible? They asked about the route, about the **__**hometown, even about the weather. So how could they have forgotten something that important."**_

Naruto's eyes widened. _"They already know"_, he whispered. _"They already knew that detail before the old man told us about it."_

_**"Right"**_, Kurama stated. _**"Why should they keep it a secret? There must be something they are hiding from you." **_

Naruto nodded absently. Then he looked up from the shameful excuse of a meal on his plate and surreptitiously regarded his fellows in misery. They didn't seem to realize his glance. At least if one of them did he didn't show it.

_"What do you think, Kurama?"_, Naruto asked the fox. _"Am I the only one they kept it a mystery from, or are Rin, Kakashi and Obito not informed either."_

**"Hm, hard to tell"**, the fox grunted. _**"They have at least some kind of information, otherwise the Uchiha would have made a fuss. One's for sure, they were told not to tell you."**_

In this moment, Obito looked up from his plate and their eyes met. The boy's eyes immediately turned cold. and he glared back into the blue orbs of his teammate.

Naruto held his gaze for a few seconds. then he sighted and detached his eyes and pretended to be very interested in his chopsticks.

_"He really hates me now, doesn't he"_, Naruto thought and tried different ways of letting his chopsticks swirl around his fingers.

Kurama snorted. _**"You can't blame it on him, can you? He tried his best to act normal after what happened last night. Did a good job, nobody noticed everything. Let him glare a bit. You own him at least that."**_

_"Still, it bothers me"_, Naruto said and let one chopsticks spin around his thumb.

_**"You were pretty rough yesterday. You threatened and blackmailed him moreover. Leave him alone for a while and everything will be alright again ... eventually."**_

Naruto let the chopsticks swirl around each other while he remembered the event of the previous day.

* * *

><p>His heart was racing in his chest. Naruto starred in horror at the boy in front of him. These normally so warm and cheerful eyes were as cold as ice when the four words left his lips.<p>

_I have seen everything._

Panic settled inside his heart and flew with the pumping blood through his entire body. He couldn't feel his toes anymore, his fingers were numb.

While his mind was still frozen, he heard himself ask a question. It sounded like another person would talk instead of Naruto himself.

"You saw everything? What is everything? What have you seen?"

Obito knitted his eyebrows. Clearly encouraged by the fact that his words had made

Naruto unable to move, a thin smile settled on his lips.

"At first I thought you were a weakling", Obito started with a firm voice. "That scene was rather pathetic. Tsunade on the ground, knocked out by you, while you got your ass kicked by that huge man. But then you beat him. With just one hit. Considering that that man was a member of the legendary seven swordsmen, it wasn't half bad."

Naruto just stared. Obito really had seen the whole thing. There was no other way he could have known about the fight.

"Actually, I was impressed. I hadn't thought that you could take on a person who is on bare with most of the better jounin of Konoha. I underestimated you and I wanted to praise you later. But then you told us that pathetic lie with Tsunade, wanting your real face to stay hidden. And so I started to think. Think about the reason you lied to us the whole time. The things that worry me the most were the things you said."

Oh my goddess. So he did not only see, but also hear everything. Just Naruto's luck.

"You don't really want to find that 'masked man' you are talking about all the time so desperately after all. Otherwise you would have said said 'screw it' and went along with the swordsman. Since he had the mission on bringing you to your so called 'father'." Obito snorted. "I don't know the reason why you are searching for him, but he is definitely not your father."

He knew.

"There were other interesting things in your conversation with this fishman, too. Like the fact that you were screaming at him. Something that involved the Hokage."

He knew everything.

"I forgot what you said exactly, but it was something like 'the future Hokage'."

Naruto swallowed. It was over. No need to hide anything anymore. Obito had heard it all, every single detail. And Naruto could tell by the look in his eyes that he wouldn't keep it from himself.

The panic was gone. His body was still cold but he didn't feel the ice that rushed through his veins anymore. He was just standing there calmly and listened to what Obito had to say.

Obito crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Yeah. I heard you calling yourself the future Hokage. You really are a puffed-up blondie."

Naruto flinched. Had he just heard puffed-up?

He raised his head just to see Obito smirking at him. His arms crossed over his chest, a cocky smile on his lips.

"You seriously believe that yoz can take the place of the strongest ninja of

Konohagakure? That you can take the command? Stupid blondie!"

Blondie.

"You aren't even a ninja of Konoha."

Blondie?

"You know what, blondie? You may be stronger then you look at first glance, but you are still not strong enough. You are way too weak."

_Blondie?_

"They will never accept you."

_BLONDIE?_

"You aren't worthy calling yourself _Hokage!"_

_..._

"I don't know how great you think you are", Obito said and walked towards the apartment.

"But I'm gonna tell sensei about it. Judged by your frozen state all I said was right. You are a liar. It wouldn't surprise me if you had lied about sensei being your brother, too. There surely are some ways to fake a blood test result."

Obito walked past Naruto and was about to step into the apartment complex, when a strong fist connected with his back. Obito fell froward and opened his mouth to scream when the pain shot up his spine, but his lungs were empty from the impact. Then he was harshly yanked back by his arm. He hissed and turned his head. His eyes wandered from the strong hand which had a firm grip on his upper arm, to the face of its owner.

Naruto's blood was boiling. His heart jumped angrily in his chest. Weak? Never being accepted? _Not worthy to be Hokage? _

This little rat! The little freak standing here in front of him had no idea about anything! Damn it, he didn't even know him!

The way up to the top had been a hard one, but this child, this _Uchiha_ was standing there, smirking at him! Mocking him! Mocking his dream! Just like _he _did.

Naruto hadn't thought about it, but suddenly his fist connected with the boy's back. Then his hand had grabbed the boy's arm and squeezed. Tightly. The kunai Obito had pulled out of his jacket was thrown to the ground.

Obito gasped painfully, staring hatefully at Naruto and tried to twist his arm out of his grip, but the blonde only increased the pressure on the child's arm. A small scream escaped the Uchiha's mouth and for Naruto's ears it sounded like music. Obito wiggled a bit, but Naruto twisted his arm and the attempts to escape quickly died down to a slight twitching. Right know Naruto wanted nothing more then to break it into pieces. Obito's head fell forward when he gave in to his attacker, hiding his eyes behind his hair.

"You Uchihas are all so high and mighty, thinking you are better then everybody else", Naruto said coldly, his voice as dangerous as Kurama's deep growling. "But now, look at you! Helpless like a little mouse in front of the cat. Pathetic."

Naruto grinned evilly. "So you wanna tell your oh-so-great sensei? I wouldn't do that if I were you!", he snarled. "I admit that the fight with that giant pufferfish was a mess. I couldn't control my chakra back then. But don't raise your hopes. I'm stronger now. I can take him on. Not only him but every single one of them."

"I will tell him and he will bring you down", Obito growled.

Naruto turned his head to the sky and laughed. "And what will you say? That I'm a lair? You think that will work? He won't believe you! Not a single bloody word!"

Obito went stiff. "What ... What do you mean he won't believe me?"

"Have you forgotten? I'm his precious 'brother', the family he searched for his entire life. He won't believe you if you tell him his brother is a lair."

"B ... But he will still bring you down."

"You should do as I say, Uchiha. Minato won't help you. He will do everything to ignore the fact that his family betrays him. Everything. So i suggest you keep quiet. I don't know what I will do when you disobey. Hm ... maybe I start with Rin first."

Obito trembled and Naruto heard a slight whimper. He enjoyed it and he wanted to hear more, so he twisted the arm behind the boy's back.

Obito let out a chocked sound and his legs gave in. He would have fallen on the ground if it wasn't for Naruto holding him upright.

"S ... so ...you are ... n't sensei ... s brother? You fak ... ed it?"

Naruto smirked. "That's right. I'm not his brother."

And then froze.

Something was falling from the boy's face. It hit the ground and left a small dark point there for Naruto to see. Another drop joined the first one, leaving a perfectly round circle on the stone.

Naruto saw Obito slowly turn his head and stare into his eyes. He was crying. Tears rolled down on his face and left wet lines on his cheeks. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the tears dripping on the ground, away from this pain-filled face. The Obito opened his mouth and spoke.

"Mon ... s ... ter."

The word was hitting Naruto like a punch in the stomach. His hand began to shake and he let go of the Uchiha. Obito's knees buckled and he fell to the ground, clutching his injured arm.

Naruto stared at the trembling back and his eyes widened, as the word 'monster' echoed through his mined.

God, what had he done? He had hurt Obito!

Naruto shuddered and took a step backwards. That hadn't been his attention. He had seen red when he was mocked for his dream, like they had always done. He had lost control.

The only reason why he didn't want his true identity to be relieved was to keep his comrades safe. To protect the people close to his heart. And yet Obito sat here on the ground and cried.

"Is it fun?", Obito whispered. "Is it fun to play with people's emotions like that? With their hearts?"

He turned around and wiped tears from his eyes. "Is it really that fun, you sick bastard? Sensei deserves something better then you! You are evil!"

Naruto was shocked. His heart beat faster, ice rushing through his veins, freezing his muscles. The panic was back.

"Don't worry", Obito hissed and shakily stood up from the ground. "I won't tell anybody. But I will beat you! I swear!"

Then he turned around and walked back to the apartment.

"Obito", Naruto whispered. Obito froze he turned around.

He saw Naruto approach him and slowly backed away into the hall. Hi back pressed into the wall as Naruto still came closer, trapping him in the dark hall.

"You are completely right to say I'm evil."

Obito closed his eyes and trembled, pressing closer into the corner. he knew it was futile, but he couldn't stop shaking. So he closed his eyes and waited for the pain.

But it didn't come. Obito blinked when he felt a slight touch on his cheeks. His face was lifted by two hands until he stared into Naruto's face. He had expected everything. Anger, hatred, madness. But not that.

Not that sad smile.

"For his comrades ... for his friends ... fro his family ... a man can become a monster."

* * *

><p><em>Well, it doesn't have a much plot in it but the relationship between Obito and Naruto will be important.<em>

_Give me some nice reviews and I will update next weekend :)_


	12. Blonde poison

_Hey guys, this is the new chapter._

_Actually I wanted to bring it out after the weekend, but it was crap, so I had to work on it a bit more. Honestly, I'm not quite satisfied yet, but at least the story is getting somewhere._

_I finally have a beta reader, **werd me**, who will help me in the future, so let's hope my spelling and my grammar will improve._

_The title is a German play on words. Maybe some of you can understand it?_

* * *

><p><strong>~ life is like drawing - just without a rubber ~<strong>

**~ chapter twelve: blonde poison ~**

The man sat on top of a large rock hidden between the trees near the mountains and watched the little cabin inside the valley.

Even though he was crouching, his knee pulled up under his chin, he was large. His big straw hat hid his face in the shadows, broader then his shoulders, making him seam not only large but broad. His bright red amour didn't make him look less suspicious. Not that anybody would have had the guts to ask him if they walked past, and that's exactly what an intelligent person would do.

The only good thing you could say about him is that he knew what makes him feel good, and what generally made him feel good, was hurting other people.

Things that didn't make him feel good were when he was curious about something and that something was left to his imagination, or his partner on this mission who would talk about nothing but loyalty. Not anymore. Or never was?

He was a top rate fighter, skilled, inventive, intelligent, but loyalty was something he wasn't made for.

And since the first matter as well as the second one applied to this special case, Han was in pretty bad mood.

He hardly cared that in general perspective an ambush was considered as wrong to morality. For him morality and modesty were books of seven seals, and if it had been up to him, burned and buried books in addition.

He cared even less that Minato Namikaze, the next Hokage of Konohagakure, was inside this building. Even though they were in the middle of war and every ninja of his village was out to bring home Minato's head, he didn't care. He had more important stuff to do.

It is generally known that a common ninja isn't above a bit of corruption, just as little as the ocean is above the clouds, and that really applies to him. Hearing the words honest or ethical impeccable, he would reach for a glossary, and hearing the jingling of large amounts of cash, he would reach for the code of law and throw it in the corner.

Even though the order had been "Kill the target and return without leaving any unnecessary traces", like one or two corpses, he had no problem with overriding it a bit.

While he watched the lights in the windows of the hotel flicker and let the cold breeze rustle in his large straw hat, he noticed a pair of shoes walking up next to him. He didn't look away from the lights even when the other man begun to talk.

"The borders are clear. Nobody will interrupt us from there. Any changes here? How was your day?"

"Why do you care?"

"I'm interested in psychology and I just can't figure out what is going on inside your head."

"I nearly blew up a whole village trying to get my dinner before I went back to this fucking cold rock."

"The natural and healthy diverting of all aggressive propensities through actions of pointless violence?"

"You genius."

"Anything new?"

"They arrived today, the target is there, too."

"Everybody who could mean trouble?"

"Minato Namikaze and one of the sannin called Jiraiya ..."

"Both of them? The Sandaime certainly isn't dumb."

"Kushina Uzumaki."

"The Kyuubi? Well, that would explain the strong presence of a biju in this area. She must have a lot of control over her buju if she is able to let its chakra flow without loosing all senses. Interesting."

"Furthermore three genin of Konoha."

"Just the normal life guards. Nothing we couldn't deal with."

"And the mystery."

"Mystery?"

"The one without identification."

"You mean no forehead-protector?"

"He is fake."

"Huh?"

"He is fake. I can feel it."

"_"

"Everything is wrong. His face, his voice, his eyes, his chakra ... his presence."

"_"

"Fake. Fake. _Fake!_"

"You really freak me out. I should have never come back and work with you."

"Then why did you follow their calls?"

"Why did you?"

"Curiosity."

"More like insanity."

"Obsession."

"For your 'mystery' or that thing on your back?"

"For something I can't understand."

"_"

"_"

"Couldn't you have got some sleep so that now I wouldn't have to deal with your useless explanations."

"Until I have figured it out I won't be able to sleep."

"Figured what out?"

"Why I'm not able to sleep."

"Curiosity or obsession?"

"... Insanity."

* * *

><p>"What the hell is wrong with you, you stupid old git?", Naruto screamed angrily and fingered the sore spot on his head where Frostbite had punched him.<p>

"I asked you something! I expect every person to be careful and watching so that nothing happens to me!", Frostbite said arrogantly. "So stop daydreaming!"

Assuming that he was talking about Naruto's very interesting conversation with his better half, Naruto just growled and went without giving an answer. Kurama's anger itself was bad enough and so strong that he was surprised that Minato hadn't noticed anything yet.

Maybe he mistook it for Naruto's own mood.

Never the less no need to make it worse by arguing with Frostbite.

"Sorry", Naruto mumbled instead. "Is there something you wanted?"

"I goddamn asked you what the hell is the plan? What are we going to do from now on?", Frostbite barked, his ugly face a fierce red.

"Why are you asking me, man?", Naruto sighed. "Minato is the one in charge for that mission. He has the responsibility, and he made the plan. So why don't you ask him?"

"That dumb little blondie over there?", Frostbite snorted and pointed at Minato. "Are you kidding me?"

Naruto squeezed his chopsticks tighter. Struggling to keep calm and not to lose his senses, Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm blonde, too, haven't you noticed? Is it just that I don't wear a forehead-protector and so you think I would just sit there and endure all your rude comments without fighting back? If it is that I must disappoint you. My brother is a lot better in self-control. Or is it just because I don't look so girly?"

Minato, who had sat quiet on the table since the beginning of their horrible dinner, smiled at that comment. It was the first time he had heard Naruto calling him 'brother' so casual like it was the most natural thing in the world. He didn't notice Obito's hand gripping his chopsticks so tight that his knuckles were white.

Naruto secretly admired Minato for his self-control. He was the only one of the group who could endure their rude client without letting his bad mood show. Kushina was constantly shaking in anger, Rin was nearly crying and even Kakashi's face was not blank like normally, but angry. Obito's face was dark and angry, too, but Naruto concluded that that was most likely not Frostbite's fault but his own. Even though Kurama told him all the time that he had had no other choice, it didn't change the fact that he had still betrayed Obito.

Of course Naruto could tell that his dad was in bad mood by the way his eyebrows twitched and, but only because he had lived with him for nearly a month now and had studied his daily behavior in every single detail. For Frostbite, these little signs were invisible.

"He is the one in charge? Then we will die immediately! He is an embarrassment! And you call him a leader?", Frostbite complained, and Naruto felt his own anger rise in his chest. He clenched his fist and concentrated on his breathing, closing his ears for all the insults that Frostbite had up his sleeve.

They must have been really horrible, because Kushina slammed her cup onto the table. It shattered and water spilled over the tabletop, dropping onto the ground.

"That's it", she barked with a low voice. "I've told you before and I'll repeat it if you want to. We will be staying here for the night. In the morning we will be heading out and cross the border through the forest. After finding the next village, we will be walking to your hometown, using the normal trading streets. It will be the easiest and most effective way, because ..."

"Nobody asked you for your opinion, fucking dirty jinchuriki!"

Frostbite's scream hit Naruto like a punch in his face. And for one moment, he lost control.

Kurama's anger flooded his veins, reaching his brain and took over his body. But only for a moment. Then he had himself under control again, forcing Kurama's anger down back into his sub consciousness with his entire mind, relaxing his muscles and clearing his face from all emotions. It wasn't the first person who hated a jinchuriki from the bottom of his heart. He had heard people saying things like that a lot ever since the day he could hear.

It was nothing uncommon, nothing unnatural. No need to fight. Let this storm pass by.

Still, his fists under the table remained clenched.

"Jinchuriki are liars and monsters! I can't believe that someone actually let you participate on an important mission like this!", Naruto heard Frostbite scream while he let his eyes rest on the face of his mother. "They think you are strong? Because you're carrying a _demon_ around? A demon that is killing, destroying, drinking blood, eating human flesh! A biju is a creature from hell! There's probably still one guarding it's gates! You've made a contract with the devil! Creatures like you aren't even human!"

These words didn't touch Naruto's heart, no matter how hurtful they were. He was over it, had been a long time ago. He had learned not to listen so closely to the words of a person who knew nothing about nothing. But Kushina hadn't and Naruto could see that they hit her heart, and that with full force.

She was chewing on her bottom lip, her fists were shaking and her eyes watered. But she was fighting, casting her eyes away from her opponents face, fighting with the tears. And won with a little help.

Minato had stood up from the table, and this time he didn't bother hiding his disgust for the man. His face was dark, his eyes gleamed dangerously.

"I think it's time we all go to bed", he said coldly, never braking eye contact with his client.

Frostbite seemed to think about it for a while, but then he gave in under Minato's death glare.

He stood up and walked past the blonde man to the door, not without ramming his shoulder painfully into Minato's chest. But the blonde didn't even flinch, starring holes into the client's back until the door closed behind him.

A heavy silence followed. Nobody spoke a word, Minato's eyes were still fixed on the door, Naruto's fists were still clenched under the table. Only the sound of Kushina's racked breathing was heard.

"Well ... I'm going to bed", Rin mumbled softly and hastily escaped the silence though the door. Kakashi followed her without a word, leaving the rest of the group behind.

Minato finally looked away from the door when he heard a soft whimper. Kushina's face was still casted down and her long red hair hid her eyes, but Naruto could still see that she was crying. Minato bent down and whispered something into his fiancé's ear, and then he pulled Kushina up on her feet. He moved his arms around her shoulder and led her out of the room. Naruto starred at their backs. Kushina was hurt, without a doubt, Frostbite's words had hit her deeper than he had expected. She was crying, he had never seen his mother cry. Kushina always seemed like such a strong person, like nothing could bring her down, like the devil. But Frostbite had managed to bring her down onto her knees, making the devil cry, with just a few words. No matter how weak this guy's body was, his tongue was deadly. And Naruto wanted to cut that poisonous thing out of Frostbite's mouth.

This night, Kushina would be weak. But Minato would be able to fix it. Tomorrow she would be the same scary person again.

Naruto was still starring at the door. He could hear the doors on the corridor close, one after another, leaving the three people still sitting on the table in silence again. Jiraiya let his eyes wander between him and Obito.

"Well", he said and stood up. "Since there is not going to be a party with just the three of us, I will go for a walk."

"But we have after midnight and it's very frosty outside", Obito stated confused and knitted his eyebrows.

"It can't be more frosty outside, then it is inside right now, with a Mr. Frost next door", Jiraiya answered while putting his jacket on. He walked to one of the windows and opened it. "See ya, kids", he said and the next moment he had already climbed out of the window and disappeared into the darkness.

"At least close the window, ero-senin", Naruto mumbled, but smirked at the comment of his sensei. That guy just knew how to approach a difficult situation with a smile.

Naruto looked away from the window and noticed Obito staring at him. They were the only ones left in the room.

Naruto knitted his eyebrows regarded the Uchiha quizzically. Obito opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again and shook his head. He stood up and closed the door behind him, leaving Naruto alone with his thoughts.

Naruto looked down at the remains of his dinner and pushed the plate away from his body with disgust.

Suddenly he felt tired like he hadn't slept for days. There was no use staying up and thinking about just how the hell he had managed to bring himself into such a messy situation.

Naruto sighed and stood up from the table.

He was halfway to the door, when he noticed that he had forgotten something, so he opened his palm and let the dust of his smashed chopstick fall to the ground.

* * *

><p>He was sitting on the rock and watched how the lights in the rooms went dark. He had been sitting there for hours, observing the rage of the other biju, sometimes it was strong, sometimes it was so weak that he nearly lost trace of it. But then, when he had already thought that nothing interesting would happen anymore, the biju's rage was back.<p>

Strong. Fierce. Red.

And he could tell that it was the nine-tailed demon fox. His partner had been right. It had to be the Kyuubi. Since it was red.

It was only for a short moment, like an electric shock. Then the rage was gone. Not only weak, but completely gone, like someone had closed a soundproof door.

But that short moment had been enough to let him notice something else. The Kyuubi had not been the only presence. The item on his back, that item he had picked up ... it reacted to the Kyuubi. Like a nervous jerking, like it was alive. Maybe it was? Who knew? He didn't.

And then he laughed. He couldn't help it. Everything was just so damn interesting!

Exciting! Perfect!

And he laughed. For a long time. Minutes? Hours?

Until the light went out and still a long time after that.

Until his partner left and went to the building.

He had said that he was insane and that he would be better off sitting here until the whole thing was finished. That he would be able to pull it off without him.

But he wouldn't let him.

If it would end here, when the sun would rise ... that was boring. And he would never be able to sleep.

So he had to try. He wouldn't let it end. He had so much fun.

He wouldn't let this end just now. Not yet. Not until he knew.

And he laughed. His partner would be mad. But he was a foul. He didn't think. Or maybe he did. He didn't care.

This game wouldn't end. Not yet.

* * *

><p>Naruto woke up in panic, his eyes wide and his mouth open from his scream. He jerked up from his mattress, lost balance and fell onto the floor, hitting his chin painfully.<p>

For a moment he just lay still, not moving a muscle, looking around in the room.

It was still the same dirty mattress, still the same cracks in the wall, still the same backpack in one of the corners. He was still in the same hotel. No shadows that would point with their fingers at him, mumbling insults, calling him monster, their faces blank. It had just been a dream. He hadn't been screaming and crying. He hadn't been sitting in the dirt, alone, while everybody turned their backs on his. His shadow hadn't been the one of a giant fox, furious and deadly. All just a dream.

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Just a dream. Maybe the words of the damn Frostbite had affected him more that he had thought.

Naruto sighed, stood up with shaking limps and fell back into his pillow. A short glance at the alarm clock told him that it was only two o'clock in the morning. More than enough time to go to sleep again.

So he rolled around and went back to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next time he opened his eyes he wasn't inside his room anymore.<p>

He was nowhere at all. Everything was white, the only thing around was the endless lake. And Kurama.

The giant fox was lying on the water surface. His head rested on his paws. His red fur was still messy from the anger, but his eyes were warm and friendly as they rested on Naruto's face.

_**"You should come visit me more often, I get lonely here all by myself"**_, he snickered.

Naruto stood up from the ground and walked over to his buji and moved his hand into the red fur behind his large ears. He smiled as he started petting the fox. Kurama actually purred like a cat.

_"I'm talking to you all the time. How can you get lonely?"_

_"**Talking to a person and having a visit from one are two entirely different things, kit."**_

They stayed silent for a while, each of them caught in their own thoughts. Then Naruto pulled his hand out of the fur and sat down on one of the fox's legs, resting his back against the fluffy chest.

_"So, what am I here for? Normally you only call me if something's up, ya know"_, he said and looked up into the large eyes of his friend.

_A biju is a creature from hell!_

Kurama didn't look like a creature from hell at all. He could actually be kind of cute if he wanted to. His fluffy red fur, making Naruto want to pet it, his long slender legs, orderly folded under his body, his long red ears, reminding Naruto a bit of the ones of a bunny.

Very cute, indeed. Only his fangs and the black slits in his eyesreminded the blonde that the fox was no giant stuffed animal.

_You have made a contract with the devil!_

Kurama didn't look like a devil. He smiled. He could smile like a real human, warm and friendly. Even his eyes gleamed in a comforting way. Not even a hint of the devil to be seen in them.

_You are carrying a demon around!_

Kurama didn't look like a demon. He didn't even sound like one. When he parted his fangs to speak, his voice was low and comforting, no snarling, no hissing. Just calm and pleasant.

_**"There's nothing much I want, really"**_, he informed his host with a light snicker in his voice. _**"Just felt like having some accompany. And since you are asleep right now, it's not like you have anything better to do."**_

Naruto pushed his head further into the red fur and closed his eyes, enjoying the steady and calm breathing of the fox.

_"I have nothing against being here"_, Naruto answered with a slight smile on his face._ "But please don't underestimate the consequences of not having enough sleep. I will just lay back and take a nap here, okay?"_

_**"Sure."**_

Then it was silent again. Only a slight movement of the water surface could be heard, like a warm breeze, even though there was no movement to be seen. The endless lake was just as calm as always.

Maybe it is just Kurama's chakra which caressed the white water, causing it to whisper, telling stories about old memories and days darkened by the heavy clouds of the past.

So Naruto relaxed and listened to the wind and the calm heartbeat in his back.

_**"I am not a demon."**_

Naruto opened one eye. Kurama was still looking away from him, staring into space, but his smile had disappeared. So that was what the fox wanted to talk about.

_"I know"_, Naruto said, still tired, and closed his eye again.

_**"I am not the devil either."**_

_"I know."_

_**"Then do you believe it?"**_

Naruto sighed. He pulled himself up from his comfortable half lying half sitting position, and leaned forward. He grabbed one of the fluffy ears and pulled Kurama's head around. The fox gave an unpleasant grunt when he was forced to look into Naruto's eyes.

_"If I wouldn't believe you I would hardly have let you out of your cage, right?"_

_**"Most humans fear me."**_

_"Maybe that's somehow your own fault?"_

_**"I killed your parents."**_

_"I know."_

_**"Then why don't you say anything?"**_

_"I don't know."_

_**"Well, if that isn't helpful."**_

_"Have you ever thought that some things don't need a reason? Like why I'm still chasing after Sasuke after all these years? It's the same with you. Of course I could come up with a good reason, if you want me to, but it would be a lie."_

_**"Then why are you doing it anyway?"**_

_"Because I want to."_

Kurama thought about that for a while. Then he sighed. _**"I think I'll never understand you."**_

_"You don't have to."_

_**"Hm."**_

_"No need to be so grumpy"__**, **_Naruto informed his fox and petted his giant head.

Kurama pouted. _**"It still bothers me."**_

Naruto crossed his arms in front of his chest and smiled. _"Okay, let's say you are a demon like Frostbite said. Then I would be a monster like Obito said. A demon and a monster. We make a good match, don't we?"_

_**"For me it doesn't sound so good, kit."**_

_"Stop pouting, giant stuffed animal. Talking to you like this is much more fun than arguing with you behind bars, don't you agree? And that what's life is all about, right? To have fun."_

_**"You sure have a hell of a lot of it. It's not like I could convince you otherwise."**_

_"I have already learned two important things from you. First: A person who might look bad at the outside doesn't have to be. The world isn't black and white. Everybody has his good and bad side. The only thing that matters is how you define good or bad."_

_**"And second?"**_

_"Second: The Kyuubi and Kurama ... these are two entirely different things."_

* * *

><p>For the second time in one night Naruto was woken up by a scream. But this time it wasn't his own.<p>

He moved his hands up and down the wall, searching for the lights, tangled himself up in his own blanket and fell out of his bed on the floor.

Hitting his back on the floor, a small 'huff' escaped his lips as the air was pressed out of his lungs.

He lay there for a moment, trying to catch up with reality. He could hear voices on the corridors, feet running over the floor, the shattering of glass.

And a presence. A strong presence and a strong charka-flow. How the hell could he have been asleep while something like this was inside the house. So close. He should have felt that miles away.

Naruto tried to stand up from the floor, but he only managed to turn around and fell down again, this time on his chin, and that hurt. The blanked was wrapped around him like a straitjacket, leaving him no room to move. His senses still heavy from sleep, he couldn't identify where the noises came from.

So he lay on the floor for a bit longer and concentrated on the presence instead.

It was strong, but not fierce, more like calm and collected. The chakra-flow was different. And weird. Naruto couldn't tell what exactly it was, but it felt like two different parts of a puzzle that just didn't want to fit together. But still it worked together as one.

And then he realized what it was. Two separated chakra-flows. Mixed together and used as one, but still not one. Like water and oil.

A jinchuriki!

With one movement Naruto tore the blanked apart and threw the shreds into the corner. He was fully awake now, all tiredness was gone. And along with his mind his senses returned. The noises came from one of the hotel rooms they booked, no doubt.

Naruto jumped up from the floor and grabbed hold of the door. He kicked it open and stuck his head out of his room, looking around in the corridor, searching for the reason of this late night adventure. The corridor was dark and empty, but in one of the rooms on the edge, as far away from his own as the cheap hotel made it possible, the lights were on. That was Frostbite's room. That was where the jinchuriki was.

Naruto ground his teeth, slammed his door close and sprinted towards the lighted room. Or at least he tried to, not that he came far.

After three steps out of his room he stumbled over something that was lying in the middle of the corridor. Something that he obviously hadn't seen in the dark, way too fixed on the ruckus that was going on in Frostbite's room.

And so for the third time of the day he fell onto the floor and hit his already painfully bruised chin.

Cussing and swearing, he lifted his head and rolled around to see what had been lying around in the middle of the floor.

"Obito!"

The Uchiha grunted. His nose was bloody, one of his cheeks was red as if something had knocked him down and he held his head that had obviously connected painfully with the hard ground.

"Hey, stand up", Naruto said and grabbed the boy's shoulders, shaking him awake. Obito's eyes fluttered open, looking around and trying to see where he was. Naruto helped him sit up and wiped the blood from his nose. Obito flinched and pushed Naruto's hand away from his face.

"You okay? ", Naruto asked concerned while Obito blinked, trying to get hold of himself.

"Naruto?", he asked when his eyes rested on the blonde boy holding him upright.

"Why were you lying on the floor? Were you attacked? What the hell happened?", Naruto asked him and was glad to see that a natural color returned to the boy's face.

"What happened?", Obito snarled angrily. "You slammed your goddamn door into my face! That happened!"

"Oh."

"Would you mind letting go of me now so that I can stand up?", Obito asked and tried to get Naruto's hand away from his shoulders.

"Sorry", Naruto mumbled and lifted himself from the floor, reaching his hand out to help Obito stand up. The Uchiha slapped his hand away and jumped to his feet.

"That was dirty", he said and rubbed his bruised cheek, where the door had hit him.

"Hey, I had no idea that you were standing behind my door. And by the way you knocked me down, too", Naruto tried to defend himself and pointed at his burning chin. Then he frowned.

"What were you doing behind my door anyway? Frostbite's room is the other way."

Obito gave him a grumpy look. "I have been there already, you idiot! I'm not like you, sleeping until everything is over. I've been trying to get Jiraiya!"

Naruto frowned. "Jiraiya ... is he not in the room with you?"

"No, he's not. He is a heavy sleeper just like you!"

Obito tried to walk past Naruto, but the blonde grabbed his arm to stop him. The Uchiha looked at him quizzically, but Naruto starred at the lightened room.

"No use going to his room, he isn't there."

"Huh?"

"He isn't there", Naruto repeated and started walking towards Frostbite's room, pulling Obito along.

"What do you mean he isn't there? Where is he?", Obito asked angrily, but had no choice but letting himself being pulled. Or he would have fallen down again. And Naruto would probably still have dragged him along.

"He's not in the building."

"What the hell did you do to him, you dirty bastard?"

"I didn't do anything", Naruto answered calmly. "But I can't feel his chakra anywhere around. Wherever he is, it's not in the hotel, that's for sure."

"Maybe you're just not skilled enough to feel his chakra", Obito hissed.

"Trust me", Naruto nearly snickered, "I'm not wrong."

He sped up his steps, rushing towards the half open door. He heard whimpering, and then steps, a cracking, shattering of glass and a sharp scream. And always this whimpering.

"Obito, what the hell is going on?", Naruto whispered to the stumbling Uchiha. "Who the hell is in that room?"

They had reached the door, but instead of walking in, Naruto pressed his body against the frame. Something told him that he shouldn't just burst in. So he listened. Still the whimpering, and a lot of steps. No talking, but heavy breathing.

"Who is fighting in there?"

Obito snorted. "Don't play ...!", he started but Naruto reacted fast. He slapped his hand over the boy's mouth, cutting off his loud voice.

"Hush, be quiet", he hissed, pressing his hand hard on Obito's mouth. "I don't know what is going on but something feels awful wrong here."

Obito seemed angry, but he took Naruto's advice and lowered his voice. "That broke in about 15 minutes ago", he hissed near Naruto's ear. "In Frost's room, wanted to kidnap him. He hid his chakra very well and I don't think that he actually wanted to fight. He just wanted to finish his job and disappear in silence. Kakashi-bastard found him first. More by accident then he sensed him. He tried to get sensei but he never got the chance, was injured pretty badly. Rin-chan's treating him right now. But since the attacker had to knock Kakashi out, he had to use his chakra and sensei found him short after. They are fighting now. Kushina is inside, too, but she isn't fighting. She's guarding Frost. That guy is whimpering all the time, scared as hell."

Naruto frowned and looked down at Obito. "Minato's fighting? Then that guy can keep up to him? They are at the same level?"

Obito nodded. "Yes. I came short, after me and Rin-chan had brought Kakashi away of the room, to help out, but sensei just screamed at me to get Jiraiya as fast as possible. Where the hell is he?"

Naruto just shrugged. He turned back to the half open door and his thoughts run wild.

His dad was fighting with another guy, probably a jinchuriki, no definitely a jinchuriki. And they were even. So why the hell hadn't he noticed it sooner? Shouldn't he have picked up their chakra, even in his sleep? Why the hell weren't they even _using_ chakra? He couldn't feel anything, nothing but the normal chakra-flow, that's it. No jutsu. Just because they were in a little room and didn't want to destroy it? Because they didn't want to hurt Frost, he prey and client? And why didn't Kushina join the fight? If Minato and that guy were even, with Kushina's help they could defeat him instantly, two against one. And where the hell was Jiraiya?

Too many questions. And he wouldn't find answers by just standing around.

Naruto took a deep breath and turned his head so that he could look into the room.

Kushina was sitting in one corner of the room, crouching in front of a shivering and nearly mad with fear Frostbite. Minato wasn't standing far away from her. He was in his fighting stance, one of his kunais in each hand.

On the other edge of the room stood a man, in front of the open window, fully concentrated on his opponent. His hair was reddish hair, but it was richer then when Naruto had seen it the last time. He was younger, a lot younger, but still a lot older then Minato. The red beard was still there, as well as the black piece of armor over his nose. On his forehead-protector was the sign of Iwagakure.

Naruto's eyes widened. He had expected anyone ... but not him.

And before he could stop himself, the words had already left his mouth.

"Roshi."

No doubt, that man was Roshi, the jinchuriki of Son Goku. Naruto had met him before.

The man looked up and their eyes met. They starred at each other for a moment, and then Naruto' mind returned to reality. He slapped his hand in front of his mouth, as if he was trying to force the words back into his mouth. But it was no use. that man had heard him and seen him. Just like Obito, Kushina and Minato had.

"You ...", Obito started and looked up at Naruto's face which was still fixed on the attacker.

"You ... _know him_?"

Minato had dropped his kunais and starred at his brother's face. Naruto could see the shock in his eyes. The fight was forgotten.

Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but there was nothing he could have said to explain himself, so he closed it again.

Why was Roshi here? From all jinchuriki that could possibly have shown up, it must have been Roshi? A guy that left his village for training a long time ago? It didn't fit together.

"Naruto ...", Minato started and took a step towards his brother. Obito had already backed away from Naruto and Kushina's face was surprised and shocked.

"Naruto ... why ...", but he never finished that sentence.

Light was erupting in the middle of the room, where Roshi had stood just a moment ago.

And then suddenly the room was filled with smoke. Burning smoke. It burned Naruto's eyes and mouth, filling his lungs, making him coughing, taking every bit of air away. Naruto stumbled away from the door, dragging Obito with him, trying to get away from the gas.

Through the tears in his eyes he saw how Roshi disappeared through the open window, but then the smoke filled his eyesight and everything was white. He lost his orientation, Obito's arm was twisted out of his grip. He couldn't see, he couldn't hear. He had no idea where he was.

His world was white. White, white, white.

No, not completely white. There was something red inside the smoke, moving fast, in his direction. And then something hit him in the stomach and he fell down on the floor. Hands held him down. And then it happened. a electric shock shot up his spine. Just for the blink of an eye, but it was there and it was strong. it paralyzed him. And then it was gone.

Naruto twisted and turned under the grip, managed to through his attacker out of balance. He thrust his fist up into the smoke, blindly, and hit something. His fist connected with something heard and he could hear a painful groan. The hands were gone and Naruto stumbled to his feet and tried to get out of the room, away from the smoke, where he could see, breathe and think. A hand wound itself into his blonde hair and grabbed him hard, but Naruto ignored the pain and tore away from his attacker. His hair was ripped out of his skull, but that didn't bother him at the moment. Breathing! He needed to breathe!

His hands found the door frame and pulled himself outside and down the corridor. Away from the smoke. And he could breathe again.

Naruto leaned at the wall, breathing heavily.

Obito was next to him, coughing and gabbing, fresh tiers run down his cheeks.

Kushina was there, too. She coughed heavily.

Frostbite was lying on the floor, not moving. But he was breathing so he was alive. Too bad.

Minato was gabbing for air. He had apparently breathed in a lot of air, because every time he coughed, a little cloud of smoke would leave his mouth.

Nobody said a word.

Naruto turned around and looked at the door. Smoke was still coming out of the room, but it was less and less and soon it died down.

Still, it was no use following Roshi now. He was gone. The jinchuriki had become one with the night.

* * *

><p>He was sitting on the rock and laughed. And laughed and laughed. Everything was just so<p>

Funny.

Roshi was mad, oh yeah, he was. He had been screaming and shouting at him. Things like he had ruined everything and that the mission had been as good as finished. If only he hadn't interfered. That means Roshi was screaming when he could scream again. He was coughing up smoke. Stupid, weak, pathetic. Mission succeeded. Fool. What they searched for long wasn't there anymore. The Yondaime had been better and faster.

He didn't listen to his partner, Roshi had a lot to complain about. He just sat there, not moving. For a long time. Even after Roshi left for catching some sleep, he was still sitting there.

Not daring to move a muscle. And then he felt it was self, he opened his fist.

Strands of blonde hair were clinging to his fingers and falling onto the stone, catching the light of the moon, and shone in the darkness.

He laughed.

The boy hadn't been older than him, maybe even a bit younger. It was no use wondering about that either, since he himself had long lost count of his birthdays. Not that that day was something to celebrate anyway.

So close, so close. Right in front of his eyes.

He remembered the boy's shocked face. His crystal blue eyes, blinking at him through his tears. He had felt it. The strong electric shock pulsing through the item on his back. And the boy had felt if, too.

He rubbed his face where the blonde had hit him. A good punch. If it hadn't been for his smoke, his chin would have been broken.

He rolled the blonde hair through his fingers. And laughed and spoke to the darkness.

"Do you like the gift I left for you? _Naruto Uzumaki_?"

* * *

><p>Naruto sat on one of the thin pillows in the kitchen and looked at his friends with concern.<p>

Obito hadn't joked. Kakashi's wounds were pretty bad, not very deep and he would heal fast, but he had lost a lot of blood. Naruto had to admit that Rin was an excellent healer. With her help Kakashi would he on his feet again in just a few days.

Naruto watched her back as she was bandaging Kakashi who was laying on one of the mattresses they had brought from one of their rooms. Minato had suggested that they all stayed together for the night, since Kakashi was still unconscious and Jiraiya was nowhere to be found.

Naruto wasn't really concerned about the ero-senin. Jiraiya could take care of himself, he was strong as nearly and intelligent as Naruto himself.

What made him worry was the fact that Frostbite was still in shock, but that he would soon not be anymore. And he would scream, that's for sure.

Naruto's eyes were still fixed on the working Rin, but he could feel Obito's intense starring at his back. And Naruto knew that he would confront him. So he sat still and waited for the questions to be coming. His mind was working and he already had a headache, but he had no idea what could give for an answer. How could you explain that you know someone who will first meet with you in a few decades? Exactly right, not at all.

So he sat there and waited for the moment to come when he had to answer.

"Naruto", Obito started and Naruto knew that the moment was there. "Back in the room ... you called that man by a name. Rodi, was it?"

The already very quiet room went completely silent. So silent that naruto could hear his own heartbeat in his ears. Naruto took a deep breath. Everybody had heard it. There was no use denying.

"Roshi. He is ..."

But Naruto was interrupted by Minato. His father, who had leaned at the opposite wall, had pushed himself up and went over to the table. He reached out for one of the sake bottles. The hotel had provided them to the group, hoping that they would travel on tomorrow without ruining more of the building, if they were just treated nicely. No one of the group had touched them jet, but Minato gulped the whole liquid down in one swift movement. He put the empty bottle harshly on the table again, his eyes didn't leave Naruto's face for one second.

"Be silent, Obito", Minato growled. "We are not talking about that tonight. We have different things to worry about, so save it for tomorrow."

Obito looked like he wanted to give and angry response, but when he saw Minato's face, he just simply nodded. Naruto could imagine what was going on in his head. _Minato will do everything to ignore that fact that his family betrays him._

"Naruto", Minato hissed and Naruto twitched in his seat. "You know that I want an answer from you and you will give it to me. But not today."

Naruto didn't know what to say, so he simply nodded, too tired to come up with a better answer. He would have to give an explanation for his behavior, but not today. So he had time to think and come up with a lie.

Naruto was angry at himself. How could he have lost his head in this kind of situation? That was pathetic. And that was the next Hokage?

He sighed and let his head rest on his arms. He was too tired to think.

But he wasn't allowed to sleep. Footsteps and a loud laughter let him lift his head again.

Jiraiya was sitting on the window frame and smiled.

"Hey guys!", he laughed and waved with his hands. "The great Jiraiya is back from his long field trip. I know that you've been sad without me, but now I'm back so no need to look so grumpy. Ouch!"

Kushina had jumped up from her chair and punched him so hard on the head that he fell down from the window frame.

"You crazy woman! What the hell are you doing?"

"That's what I want to ask! You were out, having a walk, while we were attacked by a stupid jinchuriki who tried to kill us all by choking us to death!"

"But I ..."

"Don't try to justify yourself!"

Naruto grunted and laid his head on his arms again. He didn't want to listen to fights anymore. So he closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep again.

However, he didn't know that this night he wouldn't go to sleep. Even though he was dead tired, he wouldn't be rubbing the sleep out of his eyes anymore. He would be sitting, his eyes wide open, scared. And even cry.

This time it wasn't a scream that brought him back from his dream world.

"Minato, is everything okay?"

Naruto lifted his head from his arms.

His father was still standing where he had been standing before, next to the table and the one bottles of sake that was still full. But now his face was pale, nearly white, and his eyes were opened wide. He seemed to see something that wasn't in the room. Sweat run down his forehead.

"Minato-darling", Kushina tried again. "Are you alright?"

Minato sunk to his knees and grabbed the table, trying to holding his body upright. He was shivering all over now, his eyes were unfocused. If it hadn't been for his grip on the table, he would have fallen on the floor.

"Minato?"

The blonde man moaned in pain and clutched his stomach. And then he threw up next to the table.

Kushina gave a little yelp while her fiance emptied his stomach over the floor.

Naruto watched surprised from him edge of the table how his father bent over, his fingers still clawed into the tabletop.

"God, sensei is sick!", Obito stated excited. Rin gave him a small smile. "Poor sensei. Are you okay? You shouldn't have pushed yourself so far. It was a long night. So stressful."

Jiraiya laughed. "Had too much alcohol, did ya? Should be more careful in the future. Don't drink so much on an empty stomach."

Minato didn't answer. He coughed and spat the liquid on the floor, his body trembling violently.

Naruto couldn't see his father's face but he was sure that puking up strong sake in the middle of the night was no nice experience, so he reached over and smoothly rubbed Minato's back.

"Don't worry, we'll clean up later", Naruto explained and let his hands travel over his father's back, trying to comfort him.

Minato just made another painful sound and gave a violent jerk, before he spat the next mouth full of red thick liquid on the floor. Red and thick...

Naruto froze.

"Minato ...", he started, but in this moment Minato lost his grip on the table and fell hard on the floor before Naruto could catch him. Minato looked at Naruto with wide, pain-filled eyes and tried to say something, but instead of words just a stream of red thick liquid left his mouth. Then his eyes shut and his body went limp.

"Minato ... Minato! MINATO!"

Naruto sat helplessly on the floor, next to his father, between them the lake of red liquid

A shattered bottle of sake lay on the floor next to them and the alcohol slowly mixed with Minato's blood.

* * *

><p><em>That's the chapter so far. Minato is a character that is way too strong so I had to get rid of him.<em>

_Sorry :(_

_Please review :)_


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